UAE one step closer to hosting India-England series

BCCI and Emirates Cricket Board sign memorandum of understanding

India are due to host Test and limited-overs series against England later this year or in early 2021. AP

The prospect of India facing England in the UAE this winter has moved a step closer.

Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced on Saturday that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between them and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).

Khalid Al Zarooni, the vice president of the ECB, and Mubashshir Usmani, its general secretary, met with Shah and Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, at Dubai Sports City ahead of the start of the IPL.

Details of the “hosting” agreement are yet to be announced, but it could mean the emirates staging the planned series between India and England on the BCCI’s behalf, as a result of the Covid-19 situation.

“I along with vice-chairman of the ECB, Mr Khalid Al Zarooni, signed a MoU and hosting agreement between [the BCCI] and [ECB], to boost cricketing ties between our countries,” Shah wrote on social media.

As per the ICC’s future tours programme, India are due to host Test and limited-overs series against England between October 2020 and February 2021, either side of a tour to Australia.

Ganguly said in August that they remained committed to playing the series.

“The BCCI and the Indian cricket team will continue to fulfil its FTP commitments,” Ganguly said last month.

“The senior Indian men’s team will travel to Australia in December this year and will come back to the country for a series against England starting from February next year.”

However, the coronavirus situation suggest it is unlikely India will be in a position to stage those matches at home.

India currently has the second highest number of reported Covid-19 cases in the world.

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The IPL will be played in its entirety in the UAE, starting when Mumbai Indians face Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi at 6pm on Saturday.

The operation to get the competition on has been huge, including robust quarantine and bio-security measures.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all government entities and parties involved in their tireless efforts and diligence in applying the highest global safety standards to ensure the tournament takes place in a safe and secure environment,” Sheikh Nahyan, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said.

After cricket boomed in Sharjah from the start of the 1980s, India were regular visitors to the UAE.

They played 72 one-day internationals in the country between 1984 and 2000.

However, the fallout from the cricket corruption controversy that rocked the sport in 2000 meant they returned rarely thereafter.

Between 2000 and 2018, they played in the Emirates just twice – inaugurating Zayed Cricket Stadium with a two-match series against Pakistan in 2006.

The relationship between the BCCI and ECB has strengthened in recent times.

The Indian board opted to relocate the 2018 Asia Cup to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, when it was clear that the competition could not go ahead in India and still involve Pakistan’s national team.

Bringing this season’s IPL to the UAE is further evidence of the strong ties between the two countries.