Here's why franchises are concerned about staging Indian T20 League in Maharashtra

The potential venues for the 15th edition of the Indian T20 League have been revealed. As per reports, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune have been selected as the venues for the league matches. However, a final call on the scheduling of the event is yet to be taken. The entire schedule can be expected to be out this week.

Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and MCA Stadium in Pune have been finalized as the venues. However, franchises have expressed their disappointment as the Mumbai team will have the home advantage at Wankhede. The stadium has been a fortress for the most successful franchise for many years now.

"None of the other teams are getting home matches. It will be unfair if MI plays a lot of their matches at Wankhede, which has been their den for years. The franchises have raised this concern. The franchisees don’t have an issue with Mumbai Indians playing the bulk of their matches at DY Patil stadium and in Pune. Even the Brabourne stadium is fine. Hopefully, the BCCI will look into the matter," a franchise source reportedly said.

The Governing Council is scheduled to have a meet on the 24th of February to take the decision. If the franchises continue to appeal, the scheduling may have to be considered by shifting Mumbai's matches to the remaining three venues. The Board will be adamant to host the tournament in Maharashtra to avoid an outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. They faced the same issue in the last season and the tournament had to be halted midway through. It was resumed in UAE later.

As reported by TOI, a BCCI official said, "Air travel of so many teams is the biggest threat of an outbreak. BCCI doesn’t really want to take chances. The first objective is to complete the league in time in India. No one can predict when another wave may start."