South Africa could be in line to host the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to reports yesterday, as India has just entered its third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian Express reports that The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering alternative venues for the massive cricketing showpiece event, as Covid-19 numbers in the country begin to surge again. The IPL is scheduled to be held from April 2 to June 3.
India is just over two weeks into its third wave, since their active cases dropped down to 81 906 on December 27, that number has now skyrocketed to over 1.1m as of Wednesday.
Last year, India began its second wave in March with 167 845 active cases and only reached the peak by May 8 which was over 3.7m cases.
In 2021, the IPL was suspended on May 4 with 31 of the scheduled games still to be played. The remaining matches were played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the final held on October 15.
A BCCI official is quoted as saying: “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.”
The current series between South Africa and India - with the third Test played at Newlands, it seems may have provided first-hand information for the BCCI to assess South Africa’s ability to provide a bio-secure environment for touring cricket teams.