Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president on Wednesday left for Dubai to oversee preparations for a bio-secure IPL beginning on September 19. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the extravagant T20 event, which has been moved to the UAE due to the rising COVID-19 cases in India.
The first match will be held in Abu Dhabi at 7.30 pm and the afternoon matches will be held at 3.30 pm while the evening matches will start from 7.30 pm. Venues for the playoffs and the Dream11 IPL 2020 final will be announced later but the final will take place on 10th November.
Dream11 IPL 2020
Sourav Ganguly Takes First Flight To Dubai In 6 Months
Flight operations were suspended for more than 5 months and the whole country stayed at home amidst the lockdown since March-end. The corona-virus pandemic took the lives of thousands across the world and resulted in postponements of various events including the T20 World Cup and IPL. Before being elected as the President of BCCI in 2019, Sourav Ganguly was the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal, the governing body for cricket in West Bengal.
“My first flight in 6 months to dubai for IPL…crazy life changes,” Ganguly posted on his Instagram handle with a picture in which he is wearing a mask and face shield, part of the Standard Operating Procedure while flying amid the pandemic.
Sourav Ganguly. Image Credit: Getty Images.
The BCCI was finally able to create a window for the IPL following the postponement of the T20I World Cup in Australia which was scheduled for October-November. The Board would have faced a revenue loss of Rs 4000 crore if the tournament, which is usually held in April-May, had not happened. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel is among the other key officials who are already in Dubai.
Fans Will Not Be Allowed Inside Stadium Initially But May Be Approved Later
The tournament, despite its strict health safety measures, has already endured instances of staff members testing positive for the dreaded virus. Chennai Super Kings has been the worst affected with 13 of its members, including two players Rituraj Gaekwad and Deepak Chahar, in quarantine after testing positive.
Fans will not be allowed inside stadiums when the league starts but some crowd might be approved in the later stages of the tournament after a review of the COVID-19 situation. The event will be played at three venues — Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
IPL 2020 Image Credits: BCCI
After the tournament opener on Saturday, Dubai will host its first game on Sunday when Delhi Capitals take on Kings XI Punjab followed by the third match on Monday between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The IPL action will shift to Sharjah on Tuesday, 22nd September where Rajasthan Royals will host Chennai Super Kings.
There will be 10 doubleheaders with the first match starting at 3:30 PM IST and 2:00 PM UAE time. All evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST and 6:00 PM UAE time. In all, 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi, and 12 in Sharjah.
Sourav Ganguly became only the 3rd former India cricket team captain to be elected BCCI president after Maharajkumar of Vizianagram and Sunil Gavaskar. Sourav Ganguly, however, will be able to serve as BCCI president only until September 2020 due to the cooling-off period.
