It’s That Time Of The Decade: BCCI Considers Foreign Venue For IPL 2019 Due To Lok Sabha Polls, World Cup

The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) is exploring options to move the Indian Premier League (IPL) to foreign soils for the third time, the Times of India reports.

The 2019 edition of the annual tournament will clash with the 2019 General Elections just like it did in 2009 and 2014, forcing it to shift in South Africa and UAE (first half of the tournament) respectively.

The report adds that, on BCCI CEO Rahul Johri’s directions, a BCCI delegation met with the ministry officials to learn about government guidelines for hosting the tournament on foreign soils.

According to a source close to the development, the BCCI delegates were told that approvals from the sports ministry, ministries of home and external affairs were key. The BCCI delegates wanted to ensure they had proper paperwork required for the sports ministry’s permission.

The BCCI faces a greater challenge this time, since the 12th edition of IPL, not only clashes with the general elections but also the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which begins on 30 May in England.

IPL usually begins in April and concludes by May-end, but this will not be the case in 2019 as the Lodha committee recommended a minimum 15-day gap between the IPL and any international tournament.

So, advancing the tournament from March to May would be a suitable option, but it would then clash with the general elections. Various reports suggest that the BCCI has three locations in mind for hosting it abroad- England, South Africa or UAE.

Recently, CEO Johri said that the official broadcasters and teams were against the idea of conducting the tournament aboard due to logistical difficulties and revenue loss.