The BCCI has received the Indian government’s approval to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed.
“Yes, we have received the government approval,” Patel told The Indian Express. He added that the BCCI would work in tandem with the IPL franchises to make the bio-security arrangements. “We have already released the SOP (standard operating procedure). They have to follow that. We will also be having a committee (to supervise it),” Patel said.
The government approval clears the decks for the 2020 IPL to take place in UAE, from September 19 to November 10. At the moment though, the BCCI’s top priority is to find a replacement sponsor following the suspension of the IPL’s title sponsorship contract with Vivo. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer that acquired the IPL title sponsorship for Rs 2,199 crore in a five-year deal in 2018, has suspended their partnership for the 2020 edition of the tournament by mutual consent with the Indian board.
“We will issue an Expression of Interest (EOI), which will be coming today or tomorrow,” Patel said. A public backlash against Chinese companies amid the Sino-Indian border dispute saw Vivo and the BCCI mutually agree to a one-year moratorium in the IPL’s title sponsorship.
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