The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is making all possible efforts to stage the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India itself. However, the Indian cricket board remains open to the idea of shifting the tournament overseas in case the COVID-19 situation in the country worsens.
While UAE is reportedly not being considered as an option due to the extensive dew factor during the month of April, South Africa is one of the strongest contenders to host the tournament if it is moved out of India. As per a report in Cricbuzz, Cricket South Africa (CSA) is currently in talks with the BCCI and has presented a proposal stating that it will be a cheaper option to stage a tournament in the country.
As per the report, Cricket South Africa has presented a lucrative offer to the BCCI in a bid to stage the tournament in the country. CSA has told BCCI that hotels in South Africa will be significantly cheaper than UAE for the ten teams while also insisting that there would be less air travel which will further cut down the expenses of the franchises.
Cricket South Africa has planned to stage the entire tournament in four stadiums which are centred around capital city Johannesburg, where all ten teams can have their bio-bubbles. The matches can be played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, Centurion Park in Pretoria, Willowmoore Park in Benoni and Senwes Cricket Stadium in Potchefstroom which are all within driving distance to each other.
Apart from the four stadiums around Johannesburg, the CSA is also ready to offer to host some matches at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town and the Boland Park in Paarl where India recently played the three-match Test series and three ODIs against the Proteas.
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The teams can then also have their bio-bubbles in Cape Town. The CSA is aware of the fact that IPL 2022 will involve ten teams and thus is ready to offer more venues to the BCCI. The next edition of the tournament is expected to begin in the last week of March.
BCCI has limited time to come to conclusion on the venue of the next edition of the tournament. The board is expected to finalise the venue by February 20 and has been reportedly informed that South Africa, which was one of the first countries to report the Omicron varint of COVID-19, has seen the number of virus cases go down in the last few weeks.
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