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Sourav Ganguly: BCCI hopeful of hosting IPL 2021 in India; option of UAE also open if conditions demand

Sourav Ganguly is hopeful that IPL 2021 would be held back in India. But the UAE once again remains an option to host the tournament if the pandemic doesn't subside in the next four-five months.

Sourav Ganguly

Bengaluru, Nov 24: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is extremely happy with the success of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and seems optimistic that the next edition of the tournament will be held in India.

Ganguly also claimed that the future of IPL 2020 started looking grim when players in the European football leagues started testing Covid positive but the former India captain said he is immensely proud of his team for pulling off a successful tournament of such magnitude even as many suggested them not to.

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The cash-rich league, this year, was shifted to the UAE because of the raging pandemic in the country. However, Ganguly is hopeful that the fourteenth edition of the tournament would be back in India. But the UAE once again remains an option to host the tournament if the pandemic doesn't subside in the next four-five months.

"We had about 400 people staying in the bio-bubble, 30-40 thousand tests have happened over a period of two and half months to make sure that everyone is safe and healthy," he said.

"...it's a tournament for India. People spoke about the success of IPL, I told all of them that you must, you have to be in India to see what IPL is to India. We are hopeful of hosting the tournament next year in the country but we'll have to consider the situation (of the pandemic) at that time. Else, we'll once again organise the tournament in the UAE," Ganguly said during a virtual media conference where he was the brand ambassador of Livinguard AG, a hygiene technology brand.

Ganguly also revealed that he underwent as many as 22 COVID-19 tests in the past four and a half months while trying to navigate his professional commitments amid the raging pandemic.

"I must tell you I have got tested 22 times in the last four and half months and not been positive even once, I have had cases around me so that probably forced me to get tested myself," Ganguly said.

"...I stay with elderly parents and I have travelled to Dubai and in the initial part, I was very worried, not just for me, but the community, you don't want to spread it to somebody else because people are looking up to you," he added.

The Board President also talked about the much-hyped tour of Australia by the national team, which completed its quarantine period on Tuesday (November 24) in Sydney.

Team India start their tour of Australia with the first ODI on November 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"...the players are fit and fine, Australia also doesn't have a very high number of COVID cases, the borders were closed for a while...they are still very, very tight on international travel, you have to do 14 days of hard quarantine, so the boys are ready to get onto the field," the BCCI chief said.

Story first published: Tuesday, November 24, 2020, 20:48 [IST]
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