The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 19 September. The title match will be played on 8 November. IPL chairman Brajesh Patel on Friday gave confirmation to PTI.
The IPL Governing Council will meet next week to finalize the program and approve it. It is learned that the Cricket Board of India (BCCI) has conveyed its plan to the franchisees.
'Hope to get government approval'
Patel said, 'The Governing Council will meet soon, but we have decided the schedule. It will start from 19 September to 8 November. We hope to get the government's approval. It will be a full 51-day IPL.
See: New IPL 2020 Time Table
The BCCI will write a letter to the Emirates Cricket Board
Patel said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is being prepared to avoid the threat of Covid-19 epidemic and BCCI will officially write to the Emirates Cricket Board.
Patel said, 'We are making SOP and it will be ready in a few days. Whether or not to allow viewers will depend on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government. We have left the decision on this to his government. Still, social distance has to be followed. We will also officially write to the UAE Board.
ICC will hire academy grounds to train teams
There are three grounds available in UAE which are Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and Sharjah Ground. It is learned that the BCCI will hire the grounds of the ICC Academy to train the teams.
The ICC Academy has two full-size cricket grounds, as well as 38 turf pitches, six indoor pitches, 5700 square feet of outdoor conditioning area with physiotherapy and medical centers. According to the current health protocol in Dubai, if people are bringing their Kovid-19 test report negative, then they do not have to live in isolation, but if it is not so, they will have to go through the investigation.
Decided to start a week ago
There was speculation that the IPL would start from 26 September but the BCCI has decided to start it a week earlier so that the Indian team's Australian tour is not affected.
The official said on condition of anonymity, 'Indian team will have to remain on segregation for 14 days upon arrival there as per the Australian Government rules. It can cause trouble with delay.
He said, 'The good thing about this 51-day program will be that it will reduce the conduct of two matches in one day. With the tournament running for seven weeks, we can stay on the original schedule of organizing two matches for five days.
Each team needs a month's time to practice
Each team will need a month's time to practice and in such a situation the franchisees will reach the venue by 20 August. This will give them four weeks time for preparation. The Indian team has to play a series of four Tests in Australia, whose first match will be played in Brisbane from December 3.
The IPL was scheduled to be held from March 29 but it was postponed indefinitely due to Coronavirus epidemic and travel restrictions.
See more at - The Cricket World
Event date & time: 19.09.2020 at 00:00
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