The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host the IPL 2020 from 19th September to 10th November 2020. On Sunday (2nd August), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finalised the timeline for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Three UAE venues will host the entire tournament subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India, and these three venues are Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
The IPL Governing Council meeting was scheduled on Sunday. While the BCCI already decided to organise the complete IPL 2020 in the UAE, they are waiting for the Government clearance to finalise all the required work to successfully organise this tournament.
The BCCI is very confident to get the necessary government clearance soon. The board has decided to organise the IPL 2020 final on 10th November instead of their earlier plan to organise the final on 8th November. However, the tournament will begin as per earlier plan – on 19th September.
During the latest GC meeting, the 24-player limit has been set for each team. Also, the COVID-19 substitutes have been approved.
IPL 2020: Evening matches will begin at 7:30 p.m IST.
In this 53-day IPL 2020 tournament, we will experience 10 doubleheaders while the evening matches will begin 30 minutes earlier at 7:30 p.m IST. The 10-afternoon matches will begin at 3:30 p.m. IST.
A BCCI official told IANS, “We have decided to go up till November 10 and so the final will be held on a weekday for the first time. Also, to ensure that there is enough gaps between games considering the travelling and the bio secure environment and keeping all these things in mind, we will have 10 double headers this season.”
“We have decided to bring it forward by 30 minutes from the regular time of the IPL which is 8 p.m. for evening games and we will start at 7:30 instead.”
The BCCI has also asked all the franchises to start the visa process immediately.
The official added, “We have been asked to start our visa process.”
The board is also planning to allow some spectators to watch the live match on the venue, but they will discuss on this matter with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) before taking any final decision on it.
The official continued, “It would be great to have some fans come in as that would boost the morale of the players for sure. But what needs to be remembered is that the safety of the players is priority. So, these are things we will discuss with the ECB at the right time.”
Also, all the IPL sponsors have been retained for the IPL 2020, including the title sponsor Vivo, the Chinese technology company who is famous for smartphones.