IPL 2019 could be played outside India

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the likely destination available to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if the 2019 elections clash with Indian Premier League (IPL) dates(as per reports)

Dates of IPL 2019 were revealed yesterday, during the schedule release of the 2019 World Cup and as the Indian General elections will be held during the same time, alternate venues will have to be looked at in order to ensure the smooth conduct of the tournament.

The 12th edition of IPL will be played from March 29 to May 19. An official of BCCI stated that there is a possibility of IPL moving out of the country next year.

“Well, we will only take a call when the situation arises, but we are ready for any such eventuality. The United Arab Emirates looks to be the most likely country where it would be shifted if need be,” the official was quoted as saying on TOI.

The major reason for selecting UAE would be that the time zone would be similar to that of the Indian subcontinent and the viewers will be provided with almost similar IPL timings

“UAE’s time zone suits the Indian audience unlike South Africa,” the official added.

“With the Lok Sabha elections set to take place, UAE is definitely one of the options, but a final call will be taken after taking the view of all the stakeholders.” Rajeev Shukla said.

Earlier IPL has been moved several times out the country in the past due to general elections. In 2009, the entire tournament was shifted to South Africa for the same reason. While in 2014, the first part of the league was held in the UAE.

UAE offers three venues to play – Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.