The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League will kick start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while the final will take place on November 8, Brijesh Patel – the IPL Chairman confirmed the news on Friday. Moreover, the communication on the matter has been sent to all the franchises by now.
At first, the BCCI wanted to host the tournament in India only but a growing number of COVID-19 cases, it has been shifted to UAE. Moreover, the league will be played in the same window of T20 World Cup which was scheduled to take place in Australia and now has been officially postponed by the International Cricket Council (ICC)
“We have had a discussion and we are looking at the September 19 to November 8 window for this edition of the league. We have informed the franchise about the same,” Patel said to IANS.
While the Caribbean Premier League and England and Australia series will finish on September 10 and September 15 respectively. This might be problematic for the players. But Patel said that they will discuss the issue in the Governing Council meeting which will be in the next week.
“Shouldn’t be a problem. The England-Australia series ends on September 15. So, we should have them flying indirectly to Dubai. We will discuss the final matters in the governing council meeting next week,” he added.
On the other hand, the UAE has been preparing to host the tournament for a long time. They have three grounds – Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah ground. The BCCI will rent the grounds of the ICC Academy for the training purpose before the campaign starts on September 19.
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Moreover, the ICC Academy has two full-sized cricket grounds alongside 38 turf pitches, 6 indoor pitches. With this, it also has a 5700 square foot outdoor conditioning area apart from physiotherapy and medical center. Meanwhile, the current health protocol in Dubai said that people don’t need to be in quarantine if they are carrying a negative COVID-19 test report.
However, the schedule of the tournament will be discussed in the next week’s meeting of IPL Governing Council. The official announcement will come after the meeting. But the BCCI has joined the franchises in making logistical plans for the tournament.
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