Rest of IPL 2021 matches to be played in UAE: BCCI

“…the other thing that’s going to happen here is that the absence of the IPL games in India will also have an impact on advertising revenue,” The Walt Disney Company that owns Star India had said earlier this month. (File image)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday said the remaining matches of the the Indian Premier League (IPL) for this season will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“The decision was taken at a special general meeting held virtually, where members unanimously agreed to resume IPL,” the BCCI said in a statement.

The matches are scheduled to be held during September-October as indicated by the board. The decision to shift the tournament to a different country was taken “considering the monsoon season in India during the months of September-October,” BCCI said. News agency PTI reported that the matches are likely to be played between September 18 and October 10.

On May 4, the BCCI announced the suspension of IPL in India after few participants contracted the coronavirus. The tournament had commenced on April 9 and was earlier scheduled to end on May 30. This is the second year in a row that the IPL will be held in the UAE. The entire season of IPL 2020 was played in the country.

The decision to resume IPL should spell relief for official broadcaster Star India that banks on the advertising revenues earned from the game to recoup the heavy investments it made to acquire the IPL media rights.

“…the other thing that’s going to happen here is that the absence of the IPL games in India will also have an impact on advertising revenue,” The Walt Disney Company that owns Star India had said earlier this month.

Disney had said it expected the pace of addition to the total subscriber base of its direct to consumer businesses to decelerate in the second half of fiscal 2021 partly due to the abrupt suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. Disney+ (branded as Disney+Hotstar in India) contributes significantly to the firm’s direct-to-consumer segment.

“The BCCI SGM further authorised the office bearers to seek an extension of time from the ICC to take an appropriate call on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021,” added the statement issued by the Board. India is slated to host the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.