IPL 2021: Sri Lanka Cricket offers to host remaining 31 matches in September

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has expressed its desire to help the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host the remainder of the Indian Premier League 2021. Due to the rising number of cases of coronavirus during the second wave, the league got affected and had to be indefinitely postponed.

The BCCI is now struggling to find a slot to schedule the rest of the tournament. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly in fact has gone on record to say that his board will have a talk with other boards to see if a window can be made available for hosting the 31 matches left, before the T20 World Cup.

He had also revealed that if the IPL is not completed, the board could face up to INR 2500 crores ($ 340 Million) of loss, which is just the early estimates. In a recent interaction, the SLC chief of the managing committee, Prof. Arjuna de Silva said that his board can provide a window in the month of September.

We are planning to host the LPL in July-August: SLC chief of the managing committee

He further said that along with the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka can also be taken as an option for hosting the tournament. Last year, when IPL had to be shifted out of India due to the pandemic, it was hosted by UAE. Even this year, it has emerged as a probable venue, not just for the IPL 2021, but for T2 World Cup as well. Sri Lanka had expressed interest to host IPL last year as well.

“Yes, we can certainly provide a window to host the IPL in the month of September. We hear the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is their one option but Sri Lanka can not be ignored for all reasons,” said Prof. Arjuna de Silva and was quoted by Cricwire.

De Silva’s term will be ending soon later this month after the SLC elections are held on May 20. However, it has been stated in the report by Cricwire that the offer will remain even if the management changes. De Silva also revealed that the board is planning to have the second season of the Lanka Premier League in July and August, hence the arrangements will be ready in September.

“We are planning to host the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in July-August and the grounds and other infrastructure will be ready for the IPL in September”, he added.