Image courtesy - BCCI
Jay Shah, secretary of the BCCI revealed the reason behind moving the remaining fixtures of the 14th edition of the IPL to UAE was not because of the spike of COVID-19 cases in India or because of the cases that were found in the camps of four franchises. Rather, it is because of the weather factor during September – October here in India.
Speaking to ANI, he said, “See we took this decision to conduct IPL in the UAE because it will be monsoon here and it will not be feasible to hold matches here in September and that is why we are taking IPL to the UAE”.
He also added that the reason behind BCCI shifting the venue from India to UAE for the remaining games was not because of the surge of COVID-19. But, the sole reason behind this is the weather conditions as India will witness a monsoon when the reaming phase of the IPL 2021 commences. How can one expect the Board to hold the tournament in venues like Mumbai and Ahmedabad when there is a monsoon? does it make any sense? he questioned.
The decision came after the BCCI held a Special General Meeting on Saturday. The fate of the T20 World Cup 2021 was also discussed in the meeting with the BCCI deciding to seek more time from the ICC to conduct the tournament in India. BCCI is keen on staging the marquee event in India but is aware of the challenges possessed by COVID-19.