On Monday, IPL’s Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel said that the central government has given a formal approval to host upcoming IPL season in the UAE.
The IPL will be held in the UAE from September 19th to November 10 in three different cities i.e. Sharjah, Abu Dhabi & Dubai. The government had given an “in principle go ahead” to the BCCI last week to shift the cash-rich league to the UAE due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.
“Yes, we have received all the written approvals,” Patel told PTI when asked whether the permission has come in writing from both the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
As per the law, when an Indian Sports body shifts a domestic tournament abroad it requires approval & formal permission from Home, External and sports ministries respectively.
“Once we had the verbal okay from the government, we had intimated the Emirates Cricket Board. Now we have the papers also, so franchises can be intimated that everything is in order,” a veteran BCCI official told media on conditions of anonymity.
Most of the franchises will be flying to UAE after August 20 after two mandatory COVID-19 tests are conducted within 24 hours from their departure time. The CSK staff & players are leaving for UAE on August 22 before that the squad will have a small camp at the Chepauk on the insistence of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The BCCI is facing problems for IPL 2020 Title Sponsorship after dismissing IPL’s title sponsorship with Chinese Mobile Company VIVO for the upcoming IPL season due to massive criticism over the Sino-India border stand-off.
However the BCCI are now looking for potential sponsors & are hoping to get good response from some well-established companies. Even Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali has shown its interest in becoming the new IPL title sponsor.
