BCCI Secretary Jay Shah quashes reports of IPL shift to UAE amid Lok Sabha election 2024

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ALSO READ: IPL 2024: BCCI might shift second half of the series to another country, says report Hours after the announcement of the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Shah dismissed the speculation of staging the second half of IPL 2024 abroad. He said, as quoted by news agency PTI, “The entire IPL will be held in India. We will be formulating the remaining schedule very soon and announce it." Earlier in the day, A Times of India quoted a BCCI official as saying that they may consider scheduling the second half of the IPL series in UAE, as the Election Commission of India was to announce the election schedule on Saturday at 3 pm.

BCCI official said, as quoted by TOI, "The Election Commission of India will announce the election schedule on Saturday at 3 pm. After that, the BCCI will decide whether should be moved to Dubai. Currently, a few top BCCI officials are in Dubai to explore the possibility of organizing the second half of the IPL in Dubai." Meanwhile, ECI announced the full schedule to Lok Sabha elections 2024, , Assembly polls for four states, and bye-polls for 26 Assembly constituencies (ACs) on Saturday.

Announcing to the media, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the polling will take place in 7 phases, beginning on April 19 and will conclude on 1 June. The counting of votes – for all polls – will take place on 4 June. The polling for 4 states and bye-polling for 26 ACs will take place along with Lok Sabha polling dates, which are 19 April, 26 April, 7 May, 13 May, 20 May, 25 May, and 1 June.

Other reports said that few IPL teams have collected players' passports as a precaution for potential relocation during general elections. However, BCCI maintains IPL will stay in India. The IPL was