Reports - BCCI mulling over staging ITL in South Africa or Sri Lanka

If reports are to be believed, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to stage the 15th edition of the Indian T20 League (ITL) in South Africa or Sri Lanka. India is seeing a massive spike in the number of COVID-19 cases and there are doubts if BCCI will be able to host the tournament in the country. Thus, the board is planning a backup plan in case hosting the tournament in India is not possible.

For that, they have zeroed in on South Africa and Sri Lanka as countries where the tournament can be played. South Africa also hosted the second edition of the Indian T20 League and was a massive hit. Another thing that goes in favour of staging the tournament in the rainbow nation is the time difference with Indian time.

Over the years, the players have complained about the matches stretching beyond midnight which does not allow the players enough rest and recovery. If the tournament is played in South Africa, and the broadcasters decide to start the match at regular 7:30 IST,  the final ball of the match will be bowled at 4:00 PM in South Africa. Also, the recent success of the India tour of South Africa and previous A tour has made BCCI inclined towards ITL in South Africa.

In the last two years, the ITL has been held in UAE. However, that's not the case this time around due to several logistical issues. Also, the Arab nation is planning to host its own league.

"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 per Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the auction for the 2022 edition will take place in the second week of February in Bengaluru.