Sunil Gavaskar has suggested a shortened Indian Premier League could be held in Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates if it is staged at all.

The IPL was due to get underway at the end of March, but that was not possible due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Brijesh Patel, chairman of the IPL's governing council, on Friday revealed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking at the September and October window for staging a rescheduled tournament.

Gavaskar believes it would make sense for the competition to be played overseas if that window is possible due to the weather in India at that time of year.

The India legend said: "If the IPL is held in Sri Lanka from September then it might be possible. If you play somewhere overseas, then the home and away factor won't be there.

"So instead of the 14 matches per team, the tournament will be reduced to maybe seven matches per team. That might be possible and only then maybe the IPL can happen.

"Then we can have IPL in September-October, not in India because there can be monsoon at that time. Maybe, Sri Lanka or UAE can host the IPL."

Gavaskar, however, says increased optimism that the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia can take place as scheduled could mean there is no IPL this year.

He added: "After hearing what the Australian government said, it seems like the T20 World Cup can happen. Players will have to reach Australia earlier than usual for the 14-day quarantine period and then for the practice matches.

"If the ICC accepts that the tournament will have to happen then it will be difficult to hold the IPL. If the T20 World Cup got cancelled, then only the IPL window was possible.

"The T20 World Cup can happen but there will be 16 teams in the tournament with 15 players each including their support staff, doctors, et cetera.

"It will be difficult to hold but if the Australian government says it can happen, then it can happen maybe in October-November. There is still some time, may be the curve in India also will flatten by then."