IPL 2022 may take place in South Africa or Sri Lanka

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India is once again witnessing a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the country due to which there are several reports coming in that the Indian Premier League 2022, scheduled to take place in April, might move out of the country.

As per a report by Indian Express, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling over shifting the cash-rich league to South Africa or Sri Lanka.

It is worth mentioning that in the last two IPL seasons (2021 partially), BCCI moved the tournament to the UAE after the rise in COVID-19 cases. However, the Indian board is now keen on exploring other options.

“We can’t be dependent on UAE all the time so we decided to explore more options, South Africa’s time difference also works out well for the players,” said a BCCI official as quoted by Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the report suggested that Sri Lanka is also part of Plan B for BCCI to host the cash-rich league, but it’s the arrangements in South Africa for the ongoing Test series that have pleased the BCCI.

“The place where the team was staying for the second Test is spread over several acres. There were walking tracks and even a pond on the property and that has made things easier for the players who for the last couple of years or so have been confined to their rooms on several overseas tours,” said an official.

Notably, South Africa had successfully hosted the IPL in 2009 due to the elections in India.

With the addition of two new teams, IPL 2022 will be the longest ever season of the cash-rich league with total of 10 teams taking part in the competition.

Earlier, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed that the IPL 2022 auction would be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.

"Yes, the auction will be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13," Patel told ANI.