IPL 2019: Each team likely to get only three home matches
What's the story?
Denying all the deliberations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday cleared that the IPL 2019 will be held in India despite the General Elections scheduled in April.
With security concerns are always there during the elections, it was a challenging decision to make. Previously, it was believed that the tournament might either take place in Dubai or South Africa.
However, the BCCI seemed confident as they also announced that the 2019 IPL season will begin from March 23. Meanwhile, according to the reports, there will be a certain change in the schedules this time around.
Each team might get only three home matches when schedules are announced after election dates are finalized. They might have to play their remaining matches in neutral venues. The governing body will nominate several neutral venues to deny any clashing during the elections.
The background
IPL will be entering its twelfth edition this year and there has been a lot of hue and cry going on around regarding the venues of the event.
As franchises, broadcasters and other stakeholders insisted that the event should be played in India, BCCI finally agreed to organise the tournament at home.
The heart of the matter
To overcome the security concerns amid Lok Sabha elections, BCCI is reportedly going to give each franchise just three home fixtures while shuffling the rest of matches around neutral venues.
"The first objectivity was to keep the IPL in India. As the elections will be held in phases, so it should not be a problem for BCCI to find venues to suit both the teams as well as that particular state govt which has to provide the security," a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Times Now.
What's next?
According to Pune Mirror, the BCCI will announce the formal schedule for IPL 2019 on February 2 or 3 while keeping the dates of elections in view. The tournament is set to begin on March 23.