English Counties offer to host the remainder of IPL 2021

Following the indefinite suspension of IPL 2021, the BCCI is in a bit of a conundrum – it needs a proper location and a window in the year to complete the remainder of the tournament. It is believed that four English counties – Middlesex, Surrey, Warwickshire and Lancashire – are interested in hosting the rest of IPL 2021 which will comprise of almost 31 matches.

The 14^th season of the Indian Premier League was indefinitely suspended on May 4 following a breach in bio-bubbles which resulted in a number of cases among the teams. It has infected four Indian cricketers and several personnel and the deadly second wave of COVID-19 has been taking a toll on the nation.

With India’s tour of England ending on September 14, the BCCI is exploring a window to organize the rest of IPL 2021 and according to a Cricinfo report, Lord’s, Oval, Edgbaston (in Birmingham), and Old Trafford (in Manchester) have jointly expressed their desire to host IPL games and wrote to the ECB about it.

“The plans would see the tournament completed in around two weeks in the second half of September,” according to the report.

It is understood that the BCCI is looking for a window of 20 days and multiple double headers would occupy the schedule so that the games can be completed quickly. The matter is likely to be discussed between the BCCI and ECB at the ICC Chief Executives Meeting.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has incurred a huge loss after deciding to postpone IPL 2021 and the board is keen on conducting the remainder of the tournament by the end of this year. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly revealed that the BCCI could end up facing a loss to the tune of INR 2500 crores if the IPL isn’t finished this year.

“There has got to be a lot of shuffling. Only a day has passed since we suspended the IPL. We have to speak to other boards and see if a window can be made available before the T20 World Cup. Lot of things are involved and we will slowly start working on them.

“If we fail to complete the IPL, the loss will be close to INR 2500 crore (USD 340 million approx). That is going by early estimates,” said Ganguly.