IPL 2021: Franchises sweat over room availability as the tournament clashes with Dubai Expo

With the remainder of IPL 2021 scheduled to take place in the UAE, franchises are currently losing sleep over acquiring hotel rooms. The second half of the cash-rich tournament, running between September 19 to October 15, will clash with Dubai Expo, which starts from October 1.

Due to high demand, franchise officials are also wary of the rise in prices of hotel rooms. The BCCI has also received a massive setback as they are yet to give the IPL franchises the green signal to travel to the UAE and finalise their logistics due to a ban on flights from India to the UAE.

Most of the Australian players set to be available for IPL 2021 including the players who pulled out of the West Indies and Bangladesh tour. (Source - Cricbuzz)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 30, 2021

Speaking to ANI, an IPL franchise official confirmed that they are looking to close the deals through virtual meets.

"We are yet to get the go-ahead from the BCCI and it is understandable with an eye on the COVID-19 situation. What we do understand is that we will get clarity from the board on the plan ahead around July 15. After that, we could be free to travel."

"But looking at how the COVID-19 situation is always changing, we might look at video calls to complete the bookings. We need to keep in mind the Dubai Expo and how it might make it difficult to get bulk rooms with every passing day," the official said.

Getting rooms that are isolated from the rest of guests with be a challenge: IPL franchise official

The franchises have also cast reservations on the bio-bubble considering that people will travel to the UAE from all over the world due to the Dubai Expo.

"We have the Dubai Expo starting October 1. Getting hotel rooms that are isolated from the rest of the guests staying in a hotel can be a real challenge. It isn't the same as last time because the tourists coming to UAE last time was minimal as compared to what is expected for the Expo. The sooner we can close the deal, the better because once we have locked the rooms, we have to play the bubble which needs to be foolproof," the official said.

It will be interesting to see how BCCI creates a secure bio-bubble after receiving severe criticisms for lapses during the first part of IPL 2021 in India.