The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League could be played in South Africa or Sri Lanka in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. According to a report in Indian Express, the BCCI is extremely pleased with the arrangements of Cricket South Africa on the ongoing tour which is the key reason why the Indian cricket board is looking at the rainbow nation as a viable option, if they are not able to host the event in India. Earlier, South Africa hosted the T20 league in 2009 due to the elections in India. Meanwhile, the report suggested that Sri Lanka is also part of Plan B for BCCI to host the cash-rich league.
The upcoming season is expected to be the longest-ever with the addition of the two new teams - Lucknow and Ahmedabad. In the last two seasons (2021 partially), BCCI moved the tournament to the UAE after the rise in COVID-19 cases. However, the board is looking for a new country this time to host IPL.“We can’t be dependent on UAE all the time so we decided to explore more options, South Africa’s time difference also works out well for the players,” said a BCCI official as quoted by Indian Express.According to the report, the arrangements in South Africa for the ongoing Test series has pleased the Indian cricket board.“The place where the team was staying for the second Test is spread over several acres. There were walking tracks and even a pond on the property and that has made things easier for the players who for the last couple of years or so have been confined to their rooms on several overseas tours,” said an official. The 2022 season is likely to commence from April 2 with the mega auction to be held in February.
