New Zealand Cricket rubbishes claims of offering to host IPL 2020

A New Zealand Cricket (NZC) spokesperson has rubbished claims that the nation has offered to host the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), terming the report as mere speculation.

He also added that the board does not plan to approach the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for acquiring the hosting rights for the upcoming season of the IPL.

"The report is simply speculation. We have not offered to host the IPL nor have we had an approach to do so," New Zealand Cricket spokesperson Richard Boock told Radio New Zealand.

This statement comes just days after New Zealand was thought to have followed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka in proposing to host the IPL, according to a senior BCCI official.

“Staging the event in India has to be the first choice but in case it is not safe to have it, then we will look at the overseas options. After UAE and Sri Lanka, New Zealand has also offered to host the IPL. We will sit down with all stakeholders (broadcaster, teams, etc) and take a call. The safety of the players is paramount. There will be no compromise on that," the official was quoted as saying.

IPL could take place in 2020

The IPL was all set to begin on the 29th of March with a marquee clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. However, it was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past few days though, the postponement of the Asia Cup 2020, coupled with a possible shelving of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 has meant that the IPL has been accorded a new lease of life.

Thus, it will be interesting to see how the BCCI goes about conducting the IPL, considering India is now the country with the third-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.

The IPL has previously been shifted out of India in 2009 and 2014. On each occasion, the Lok Sabha elections meant that optimum security could not be provided, forcing the governing council to host the tournament in another country.

While South Africa hosted the 2009 edition, UAE hosted the first half of the competition in 2014.

New Zealand could have been a good option for the BCCI as the country has less than twenty-five active COVID-19 cases.

However, with those claims getting refuted, it seems that India and the UAE are the front-runners to host the IPL, if it were to happen.