IPL 2021 was moved to the UAE because of monsoon in India: Jay Shah

Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put forth the reasons behind conducting the second leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier, on Saturday, May 29, the BCCI made the announcement and Shah was of the opinion that it was due to monsoon in the month of September in India.

On May 4, the BCCI decided to postpone the 2021 IPL for an indefinite time period after a series of COVID-19 cases emerged in the camps of the participating teams. Thereafter, the BCCI faced troubles in sending back the players, especially the foreigners, to their homes.

In the meantime, Shah was clear-cut in saying that that it “doesn’t make any sense” to host the IPL in India because of the weather conditions.

It doesn’t make any sense: Jay Shah

“See we took this decision to conduct IPL in the UAE because it will be monsoon here and it will not be feasible to hold matches here in September and that is why we are taking IPL to the UAE,” Shah was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.

“We are moving IPL to the UAE only due to weather restrictions as we cannot hold IPL here at the time of monsoon. How can we hold IPL in September in Mumbai or Ahmedabad or any other venues at the time of monsoon? It doesn’t make any sense,” he stated.

The decision was taken in the BCCI’s Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday. In the meeting, discussions regarding the T20 World Cup in India later this year also took place. The world’s richest cricket board is keen on hosting the T20 event in India but is also aware of the challenges posed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And as far as the T20 World Cup is concerned, we will seek time from ICC and decide later. As of now, we are in the mind frame of holding tournaments in the safe zone and we will see how the situation is in the upcoming days. The only thing I can say for now is to seek time from ICC and decide accordingly,” Shah added.