The Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to shift to Mumbai with immediate effect as Covid-19 wreaks havoc on the ongoing season. The BCCI is working on shifting the entire tournament to Wankhede and DY Patil Stadium by Friday, May 7, according to a report.
After the Covid-19 breakout in KKR and CSK camp, BCCI on Monday was busy working on the logistics and operations that will be involved. Booking of hotels, re-booking of chartered flights, preparing the stadiums for cricket, building a fresh bio-bubble and making a green zone are some of the work in progress.
If plans are executed, the league might be shifted entirely to Mumbai towards the end of this week. The alterations could also lead to a slight change in the IPL 2021 schedule, with multiple doubleheaders.
One of the biggest challenges for the BCCI will be to create a bio-bubble. In order to execute their plans for Mumbai-leg, BCCI needs to find hotels for eight teams. For fitness and training, they have three stadiums namely Wankhede, Brabourne and DY Patil.
It is notable that BCCI successfully conducted 10 matches in Mumbai during the first leg of IPL 2021. In the opening leg, Mumbai Cricket Association cricket ground and Bandra Kurla Complex were used by various teams for training.
The new module would ditch the two-venue caravan model. As many as six venues were shortlisted for IPL 2021. The matches have been played at Chennai, Mumbai and currently, Delhi and Ahmedabad are hosting the second-leg. The final leg is scheduled to take place in Kolkata, Bengaluru from next week.
But with India grappling with the second wave of COVID-19 and the emergence of the latest cases among IPL franchises, BCCI remains concerned about pitfalls involved in travel.