Brijesh Patel: IPL 2020 confirmed take place in the UAE and kick off on 19 September
The postponed Indian Premier League ( IPL) to be held in the UAE will commence on September 19, with the final going to be played on November 8. The schedule was confirmed by IPL chairman Brijesh Patel on Friday, although the Indian board is still awaiting approval from the government for taking IPL out of India.
Brijesh Patel told the media, “We have written to the Indian government. We are expecting a reply soon. Once it comes in, an IPL governing council meeting will be called next week to finalize all the other details.”
This means BCCI has chalked out a 51-day window for IPL after the postponement of the T20 World Cup in Australia, the same as last year, scheduled more double-headers. Having two games on the same day has been a point of contention with the broadcasters, who can not leverage the afternoon games the same way as the late evening matches. Even when the double-headers are ruling out, these are reserved for weekends. When the schedule is finally confirmed, the same formula will be applied.
When the governing council meets this weekend, it will have to make other decisions, whether the home and away format can be retained this year or not. There are 3 venues in the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah — where matches can be held. Dubai itself has two grounds; besides the main stadium, there is also the ICC academy ground where the T20 internationals of Associate Nations were staged. Additionally, it would have to finalize the expense of modalities, how much will be incurred by the franchises, and by the board. The chairman mentioned, “All these issues will be decided by the governing council.”
The meeting will also determine if IPL-13 can have limited crowds, now that the Covid-19 is much better there. Patel said they will seek the UAE government’s advice on whether there can be any crowds.
It is expected that with each side needing at least one month to practice, the franchises have to leave the base by August 20, which gives them exactly 4 weeks to prepare.
