New Delhi (NVI): The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is set to begin on September 19 in UAE and the final tournament will be played on November 8, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has said.
However, the tournament clearance is pending before the Government. BCCI had held long deliberations earlier to host the popular tournament in India but there was no approval due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country. Earlier this week, BCCI zeroed in on the UAE as the venue for 2020 edition.
Meanwhile, the event’s Governing Council will meet next week to finalise details and set up the schedule. According to reports, BCCI has informally intimated the franchises about the plan.
The window for IPL opened up after the ICC’s decision to postpone the October-November T20 World Cup in Australia owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia had expressed its inability to conduct the event due to the situation.
The Emirates Cricket Board, and SLC, had approached the BCCI with the offer of playing host to the IPL, stating that they had the required infrastructure for it.
The conduct of IPL will be another challenge before the authorities amid the pandemic situation and the final decision on allowing crowd in stadiums rests with the UAE government.
UAE has three grounds available for the matches — Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah ground.
The event was originally scheduled to start at the end of March but was postponed after in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions that followed.
-ARK
