Saturday, Mar 08, 2014
Dubai: The UAE will have to wait for another couple of days to know whether Indian Premier League matches will be held here as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still in consultation with the home ministry over possible venues in India before finalising their schedule.
The BCCI are supposed to choose between the UAE and Bangladesh as hosts for some of the IPL matches because of elections in India. As the BCCI wants to host the majority of the IPL matches in India, they are seeking permission from the Union home ministry to host some of the matches in venues where elections are finished early.
The elections for the 543 seats are to be held between April 7 and May 12 and the election commission had announced a nine-phased polling structure. The first phase will take place in two states, covering six constituencies, on April 7, while the second phase on April 9 will cover seven constituencies across five states. The third phase features polling for 92 seats spread across 14 states on April 10. In the fourth phase on April 14, five constituencies from three states will go to polls.
With so many states that have cricket venues set to be to free after votes are cast, the BCCI is examining whether some of the states can be used to host IPL matches. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will complete their elections by the end of April or the first week of May.
Based on the permission from the home ministry, especially on the number of days they can provide security, the BCCI will finalise their IPL schedule and also announce how many matches will have to be held abroad.
According to informed sources, the BCCI is expecting a reply from the home ministry by Monday, after which they will make an annoucement.
By K.R. Nayar Chief Cricket Writer
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