UAE to 'provide all support' if BCCI wants to stage IPL here: Usmani

Dubai - A top official also stated that country's cricket board will follow the government directives on allowing fans in the stadium if the IPL happens in the UAE.

With the fate of the T20 World Cup set to be decided in Monday's International Cricket Council's board meeting, it seems the BCCI is moving a step closer to bringing the delayed Indian Premier League to the UAE shores.
The travel restrictions in Australia, the host of the 2020 T20 World Cup (October 18-November 15), due to the Covid-19 pandemic could force the ICC to postpone the premier international T20 tournament on Monday, paving the way for the BCCI to use the same window to stage the cash-rich league.
And since India has been grappling with the menace of coronavirus, the UAE has emerged as the strongest contender to stage the IPL 2020.
Amid growing media speculations in India that the world's richest cricket board is on the verge of choosing the UAE as the host of the postponed IPL, Mubashir Usmani, general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, confirmed that the country's cricket board had sent the proposal to the BCCI in April on staging the high-profile T20 tournament in the UAE.
And the ECB is ready to 'provide all support' if the BCCI decides to stage the IPL this year in the UAE, Usmani said on Sunday.
The top official also stated that country's cricket board would follow the government directives on allowing fans in the stadium.
"It's subject to approval and permission from the government (on having spectators in the stadiums). If BCCI chooses UAE as the venue for the IPL, we will work with them and provide them all the support," Usmani told Khaleej Times during an event in Dubai on Sunday.
"But, as I said, having spectators in the stadiums if the tournament happens here, we need approval from the government."
According to Indian media reports, several IPL franchises have already made their plans for the UAE with hotel bookings, flight arrangements and creating a biosecure bubble for the players on top of their priority list.
"About hotels, venues for the IPL, we have fully extended the support to the BCCI by sending an invitation in April. The Emirates Cricket Board is ready and willing to provide all the support to the Indian cricket board whenever they opt to host (the IPL) outside India," Usmani said.
"But at the moment we haven't received any official thing from the BCCI about hosting it in the UAE. As soon as we receive it, we will definitely follow it up with BCCI as it is their event. It all depends upon them."  
Having already staged the first part of the IPL in 2014, the ECB is confident of delivering another successful tournament in the country.
"It is up to BCCI to tell us what they want. As the country's cricket board we will extend all our support to them," Usmani added.
All eyes now will be on the ICC board meeting on Monday.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com