It looks like the Emirates Cricket Board is 50% of their stadium with the audience when the second half of the tournament is being held in UAE. But it can only be done if the government approves, said Emirates Cricket Board secretary Mubashshir Usmani told PTI on Friday.
While announcing the dates of the IPL, its chairman Brijesh Patel has said on PTI the decision of allowing the fans to watch the IPL second half which is starting from September 19 till November 8, the decision has to be taken by the UAE government.
After announcing the dates, the BCCI was also looking for final approval from the Indian government to host the IPL in the UAE.
Mubashshir Usmani said that “Once we get confirmation from the BCCI (on Indian government’s approval), we will go to our government with the complete proposal and SOPs which will be prepared by us and the BCCI”.
“We will definitely want our people to experience this prestigious event but it is totally the government’s decision. For most events here, the number ranges from thirty to fifty percent capacity, we are looking at a similar number”.
He also added by saying “We are hopeful of getting our government’s approval on that “.
The current COVID-19 situation in UAE is that it has 6,000 active cases and the overall situation around the pandemic is under control.
The 2020 Dubai Rugby Sevens event, which was scheduled in November, is canceled for the first time since 1970 due to the COVID-19 threat. Secretary Mubashshir Usmani said his concern over conducting the IPL.
“The UAE government has been very efficient in bringing down the case numbers. We are almost living a normal life with certain rules and protocols to be followed”.
“And with IPL still some time way, we will be in an even better place than what is right now”. The IPL Governing Council will meet on Sunday to finalize the logistics and SOP for the world’s biggest T20 league.
Usmani said that UAE is ready to host the IPL and they are only looking for Indian government approval “which should come through soon”, going by what Patel said at the time of announcing the tournament dates.
Usmani said that “We are still waiting to hear from the BCCI on the Indian government’s approval. Having said that we are ready”.
“We have plug and play facilities here and have informed them (officials at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah stadium) to be ready and they are fully aware of it”. IPL Teams will be arriving in the UAE ahead of 3-4 weeks for training.
It is to be noted that most players have not had proper training in India since the lockdown was enforced in March.
When asked about managing the training schedules for eight IPL teams, the Emirates Cricket Board Secretary said that “UAE is blessed with the support of private infrastructure. We can deliver such events and have delivered before. Last year, we have hosted T20 World Cup qualifier which had 14 teams”.
Last time, when the IPL was hosted partially in UAE in the year 2014 due to general elections in India.
Read More
Usmani added by saying that “Last time also, it contributed significantly to the UAE economy. With the full tournament taking place this time, it will be a much bigger boost “.
