The rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra have disrupted the BCCI's initial plans of hosting the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at four different venues in the state and has led them to reconsider their plans, as it is confirmed that the 2021 IPL season will take place in India.
The BCCI is now pondering to host the IPL season in multiple venues, including Kolkata Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and Ahmedabad, with discussions still on with the Mumbai government.
According to news agency PTI, the earlier discussions suggested that Mumbai could play the host considering it has four stadiums – Wankhede, Brabourne, DY Patil and Reliance Stadium, with the MCA Stadium in Pune, playing the fifth venue. That would have meant the organisers would have to create a single bio-bubble for a two-month long tournament.
But, with a rapid rise in the cases in the city and all over the state, the IPL could expand to four-five states, with the competition likely to begin from the second week of April.
However, with the COVID-19 situation worsening in Mumbai, the board has been forced to mull over expanding from one to four-five cities. The fixtures for the upcoming season are yet to be finalised but it’s expected the event will get underway from the second week of April, according to a BCCI source to PTI.
Maharashtra has witnessed a sudden upsurge in COVID-19 cases, with over 8,000 of them on Thursday, out of which 1100 cases were from Mumbai on the same day.
Last year, IPL was first postponed indefinitely after the coronavirus outbreak in March before it was shifted out of the country with the entire season being held in UAE across three venues. The board is hopeful that the relatively improved situation will allow it to organise the T20 tournament in India this time around.
