The Indian Premier League has a history of being played outside India. In the 2009 season, the tournament was played in South Africa due to the general elections in India that year.

In 2014, the IPL was jointly held in India and the United Arab Emirates, once again due to the general elections that year.

Speaking to CricketNext, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla confirmed that the tournament could indeed be played out of the country with UAE being one of the auctions.

"With the Lok Sabha elections set to take place, UAE is definitely one of the options, but a final call will be taken after taking the view of all the stakeholders,” he said.

The IPL is also set to be scheduled a little early next year as a result of the World Cup in England. The tentative period is set from March 29 to May 19 – which means that the tournament will end just 11 days before the start of the World Cup.

There are also talks of the elections taking place earlier than expected, which could mean that the tournament will be played in the home country itself. If, however, the dates completely clash and the whole competition will be needed to play outside, then South Africa is seen as an option.

Otherwise, for a partial relocation, UAE seems to be the favourite.