IPL News: IPL 2020 To Start On April 1, Teams Might Play Just One Afternoon Match – Report
Oct 21, 2019 at 6:39 PM
The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) might undergo a major revamp as there can be a case when the teams might just play just one afternoon match during the entire season as the board hopes to organise more evening matches due to two-month-long window given to the tournament.
As per a report in The Indian Express, apart from the schedule, there can also be a case that the evening matches might start at 7 PM instead of 8 PM.
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It is to be noted that the idea did come up at IPL 2018 and the playoff matches were brought forward by one hour and they started at 7 PM. As per multiple reports, Mumbai Indians have objected to the idea of bringing the time forward and a final decision on it is expected to be made soon.
As far more evening matches are concerned, the report has suggested that the idea might be implemented due to a big window provided to the tournament as IPL might start on April 1 and end on May 30. If the idea is implemented, then the weekend double-headers might be shelved and there might be only one match per day.
A decision over opening ceremony will also be taken soon. The event might take place a day before the start of the league.
While the final date for IPL 20020 will be out soon, it has already been confirmed that the auction for the league will take place on December 19 in Kolkata. The event will be a one-day affair as it is not a mega-auction.
The transfer window is open till November 14 and the franchises still have more than three weeks left to take a call on their players.
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Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians have made the only trade of the season so far. MI traded leg-spinner Mayank Markande to Delhi and brought in Sherfane Rutherford. There were talks that Kings XI Punjab might also trade R Ashwin to Delhi Capitals but the franchise has confirmed that it will retain its captain.