After playing the IPL 2020 in UAE, BCCI is planning to organise IPL 2021 in India. The reports over the weekend suggested that the Indian cricket board is planning to stage the tournament across five to six venues in India. However, this decision has been met with discontent from some of the IPL teams.
According to Cricbuzz, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad has raised objection over BCCI’s decision to have IPL 2021 across selected cities. The selected cities by BCCI are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Mumbai (subject to permission from state governments). Cricbuzz reports that three franchises feel hard done by this decision as five teams will be getting home advantage while they will have to play all games away from home.
Parth Jindal, the owner of Delhi Capitals, had previously suggested that the complete group stage of IPL could be held in Mumbai and then teams move to Ahmedabad for knockout rounds. However, Mumbai has seen a spike in covid cases, so it remains to be seen whether the city will host IPL games.
BCCI has been confident about hosting the tournament in India for some time. There were reports in Indian media that the cricket board is also confident about bringing fans to the stadium for the tournament. Considering the spike in new cases across the country, it will be a huge surprise if IPL 2021 will get the green light for spectators in the stadium.
The Indian cricket board will have to make a decision that does not give any IPL team disadvantage when it comes to the venue. They may have to narrow the list to one or two cities, an approach similar to last season when the entire tournament was played in three stadiums.