File photo of Surrey's home ground KIA Oval.
England's biggest county club Surrey wants Indian Premier League teams to come and play matches in England in a project that could be worth 'tens of millions of pounds in order to improve their financial situation, reports English tabloid Daily Mail.
Senior officials of Surrey are hoping to host the team for matches at the team's ground Kia Oval and other Test grounds.
The report further said that as soon as the pandemic situation improves they intend to host official games while taking precedence from London hosting American sporting giants such as the NFL.
"We would love to bring the IPL to London and other areas of England," Surrey chairman Richard Thompson told Sportsmail. "We think that's the silver bullet in terms of reaching a more diverse audience for cricket in this country.
"We could stage games in the same way Jacksonville Jaguars, for one, play legitimate NFL games in London. The windfalls that staging the Champions Trophy and World Cup provided for English cricket were huge and we see the IPL on that level.
"This could be worth tens of millions to the English game. We have all lost so much money through Covid that we have to be more creative and provide cricket that generates the revenue you wouldn't otherwise have made. That's why I think IPL is a no-brainer."
Surrey have also been trying to get the backing of London Mayor Sadiq Khan but it is unclear if they have approached BCCI on the matter yet.
