<p>India's cricket board will only consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) abroad as a last resort if there is no other way to salvage the lucrative limited-overs tournament this year, a top BCCI official has told Reuters.</p>.<p>The annual tournament was originally scheduled to begin on March 29 but was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19. India's death toll from the pandemic surpassed 20,000 on Tuesday.<br /><br /><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-tamil-nadu-sees-record-single-day-spike-with-over-4800-new-cases-indias-tally-crosses-632-lakh-toll-at-18307-856206.html">Follow latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here</a></strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates have offered to host the league but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said the board was optimistic about staging it on home soil.</p>.<p>"We've to consider India first and then think of overseas," Dhumal told Reuters. "They have sent these proposals in case we want to organise it there.</p>.<p>"We will discuss it in the next IPL governing council meeting where we will take a call."</p>.<p>The 2009 edition of the franchise-based league, which coincided with India's elections, was held in South Africa and the UAE hosted the early matches of the tournament five years later for the same reason.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The BCCI, facing a $535 million loss of revenue if it cannot stage the IPL this year, would be keen to slot it into the Twenty20 World Cup's October-November window if that event was unable to go ahead in Australia due to the pandemic.</p>.<p>The uncertainty around the World Cup, the BCCI has said, has created a scheduling headache for cricket boards trying to recoup some of the losses caused by the pandemic.</p>.<p>"Everybody is under the pressure because of the uncertainty," Dhumal added.</p>
<p>India's cricket board will only consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) abroad as a last resort if there is no other way to salvage the lucrative limited-overs tournament this year, a top BCCI official has told Reuters.</p>.<p>The annual tournament was originally scheduled to begin on March 29 but was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19. India's death toll from the pandemic surpassed 20,000 on Tuesday.<br /><br /><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-tamil-nadu-sees-record-single-day-spike-with-over-4800-new-cases-indias-tally-crosses-632-lakh-toll-at-18307-856206.html">Follow latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here</a></strong></p>.<p>Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates have offered to host the league but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said the board was optimistic about staging it on home soil.</p>.<p>"We've to consider India first and then think of overseas," Dhumal told Reuters. "They have sent these proposals in case we want to organise it there.</p>.<p>"We will discuss it in the next IPL governing council meeting where we will take a call."</p>.<p>The 2009 edition of the franchise-based league, which coincided with India's elections, was held in South Africa and the UAE hosted the early matches of the tournament five years later for the same reason.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The BCCI, facing a $535 million loss of revenue if it cannot stage the IPL this year, would be keen to slot it into the Twenty20 World Cup's October-November window if that event was unable to go ahead in Australia due to the pandemic.</p>.<p>The uncertainty around the World Cup, the BCCI has said, has created a scheduling headache for cricket boards trying to recoup some of the losses caused by the pandemic.</p>.<p>"Everybody is under the pressure because of the uncertainty," Dhumal added.</p>