Reports: UAE and North America are possible venues for mini-IPL

David Warner in action during IPL 2016

The United Arab Emirates and North America are the probable venues for the forthcoming edition of the mini-IPL. A couple of weeks after the BCCI announced its wish to organise an overseas IPL which is being called as the mini-IPL, they started talks with Star India for broadcasting the event. As per the reports of The Times of India, the BCCI would finalise on the venue “very soon” and is also going to call a meeting shortly with the franchises to discuss matters regarding the tournament. The mini-IPL is likely to get underway in early September, following India’s Tour of the West Indies. The shortened version of the Indian Premier League is being introduced as a replacement for the T20 Champions League which was discontinued after the 2014 edition.

A source following the broadcasts said that North America could be the eventual hosts of the tournament and the Indian cricketers would possibly fly to the venues directly from the West Indies. On the contrary, another official from the cricket industry claims that the UAE is likely to host the tournament which would suit the Indian television viewers considering the time zone. The Gulf nation also hosted the initial matches of the IPL back in 2014.

The final plans of the mini-IPL are yet to be brought by BCCI, regarding details such as finances, operations and player fees. The franchisees who participated in the Champions League used to get half-a-million dollars as appearance fees, however, It is not decided yet on how much money the teams participating in the mini-IPL would be awarded.

Too many games can lead to a breakdown

There are several non-Indian cricketers who consistently play in the IPL, the availability of those players in the mini-IPL would be a matter to look into. There was a lot of criticism about the mini-IPL from cricket personalities around the world. As per reports of SkySports, Australian coach Darren Lehmann said, ”If it keeps going like this, with players playing IPL as well, they are inevitably going to breakdown. Hopefully, changes will happen at the ICC and then you will see a refined schedule which will be better.”