New Delhi: The eagerly-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) will start September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The final of the Indian Premeire League will be played November 8. This information was given by BCCI sources late Thursday evening.
The IPL Governing Council will meet next week to chalk out the final details and approve the schedule. However, sources said that the BCCI has informally intimated the franchises about the plan.
“IPL in all likelihood will start September 19 (Saturday) and the final will be held November 8 (Sunday). It is a 51-day window which will suit the franchises as well as the broadcasters and other stakeholders,” a senior BCCI official told this agency on conditions of anonymity.
The IPL has been made possible by the ICC’s decision to postpone the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the deadly disease, the host country expressed its inability to conduct the T20 World Cup.
While there were speculations that IPL will start from September 26, the BCCI decided to advance it by a week. This was done in order to ensure that the Indian team’s tour of Australia is not jeopardised.
“The Indian team will have a mandatory quarantine of 14 days as per Australian government rules. A delay would have sent the plans haywire. The best part is that 51 days is not at all a curtailed period and there will be much less double headers. We could stick to original five double headers in seven week window,” the official said.
It is expected that with each and every team needing at least a month’s time to train, the franchises will be leaving base by August 20. This will give all the teams exactly four weeks time to prepare.