England county clubs express interest to host IPL

LONDON: England's county cricket clubs have reportedly offered to host the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). The tournament, which was being held amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, was postponed earlier this week after multiple positive cases of the coronavirus came up in the tournament's bio-bubble.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Surrey and Warwickshire, who are based at Lord's, The Kia Oval (both London) and Edgbaston (Birmingham), respectively are understood to be part of the group who wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) inviting them to extend the opportunity to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), according to ESPNCricinfo. The plans would see the tournament completed in around two weeks in the second half of September.

While Lancashire is not one of the signatories in the letter, their home ground Old Trafford in Manchester could be used as one of the stadiums for the tournament should it be held in England.

However, the ECB has received no request from the BCCI to host the tournament. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said on Wednesday that it remains too early to plan for the tournament to be held at a new venue at a later date. IANS

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