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Xtra Time Web Desk: London Mayor Sadiq Khan is keen on bringing IPL matches to London and it is one of the manifestos of his election campaign as he prepares for his re-election campaign for the Mayor of London. The capital city of England has previously hosted regular season matches in both the NFL, which has a ten-year agreement to play matches at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium, and Major League Baseball and Khan, who is running for a second term in the Mayoral election on May 6, wants to add the IPL to that list, by hosting group matches at The Kia Oval or Lord's.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, England and Wales Cricket Board would be supportive of such a move. Earlier this week, Surrey Chairman Richard Thompson told The Daily Mail that he saw bringing IPL matches to England as a "silver bullet" to attract a new, diverse audience to the game in the UK. "We could stage games in the same way Jacksonville Jaguars, for one, play legitimate NFL games in London," Thompson told the paper.

"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 revenue you wouldn't otherwise have made. That's why I think IPL is a no-brainer."

 "This is part of my plan to build a better London after the pandemic," Khan said in a press release. "I know Londoners are hungry to see more of the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant and, with two of the world's greatest cricket grounds in Lord's and The Kia Oval, London is ideally placed to host IPL matches.

"The absence of live crowds at elite competitions has been hard for many sport-loving Londoners but I know we can build a better, more open and prosperous city after the pandemic and see our capital confirmed as the undisputed sporting capital of the world.

"I will never stop banging the drum for investment in our city and bringing the Indian Premier League to London would not only guarantee a home crowd for every country but boost tourism and generate much-needed revenue to help get our capital back on its feet."