BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a letter to the state associations on Tuesday said that the change for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 venue from India to the UAE due to a string of cases in the first leg of the league proved to be a "blessing in disguise". Shah further wrote that the extravagant league being played in the UAE will serve as an ‘ideal preparation’ for team India ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The IPL 2021 will end on October 15 and the T20 World Cup begins on October 17.
“In hindsight, this appears as a blessing in disguise as with the T20 World Cup taking place soon after, there cannot be a better preparatory ground than a tournament of IPL's stature. I am confident that the second phase of the IPL will provide ideal preparation ahead of the World Cup and will prepare Team India in the best possible manner.”
The BCCI secretary has invited president and secretary of the state units to the second qualifier and the finals which will be played on October 13 and October 15 respectively.
Shah also talked about the board’s and state association’s effort that has gone in completing the 14th season of the league.
“To the outside world, this may appear as an exact repeat of last year when the BCCI hosted the 13th season of the IPL in the UAE. However, only the BCCI and its State Associations know the effort that has gone behind in completing the 14th season of the IPL. When everything finally seemed alright, we were hit by a curveball. A spate of Covid-19 cases meant that IPL had to be suspended temporarily. All of us had pulled through together to ensure IPL's return to India, its original home. While we never ruled out the possibility of someone testing midway through the league, we had done our best to tighten loose ends," the 33-year-old explained.
The board secretary in the letter went on to write about the bio-bubble breach by the virus and how everyone rose to the occasion and decided to take the tournament to the UAE for its competition.
“Despite the stringent measures put in place, the bio-bubble was breached by the virus forcing us to suspend the league keeping everyone's health and safety on priority. The BCCI has always stood shoulder to shoulder with its stakeholders, and we breathed easy only when all the players, support staff and match officials reached their respective destinations. It was during this challenging phase when some of you reached out to me and expressed confidence in completing the unfinished business. This certainly boosted my confidence and that of my colleagues in the Board and we soon began our operation of identifying a suitable window."
