The 2020 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is most likely to be held in the UAE during the October-November period. The possibility of conducting the cash-rich league in the home nation looks like a far-fetched dream considering the worsening situation of COVID-19 in India.
Even though the BCCI waits for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take a final decision on the postponement of the men’s T20 World Cup, IPL franchises have reportedly begun their preparations for UAE.
If the league happens in UAE, some teams will benefit a lot, according to former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra.
Chopra believes that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would have an advantage since the bigger ground in UAE will favour their relatively weak bowling-unit.
“Batting conditions would not have much of an impact. In fact, certain teams may start feeling better. RCB for example, because when the grounds are big your bowling is not exposed that much even if it is weak. RCB I think might actually do well,” the cricketer-turned commentator said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also picked Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) as other teams who might benefit apart from RCB.
“You have got teams who have a lot of good spinners, so Chennai Super Kings will once again be the super kings. Even Kings XI Punjab, the place suits them a lot as well since Maxwell plays very well there.”
The former Indian opener further talked about the problems batsmen might face due to the hot and humid weather in UAE.
“Overall if we see, batsmen will not face much problems although they have to be careful about the heat because there will be a lot of double-headers.”
