IPL 2020: Australia and New Zealand players to be available after March 30

The schedule for the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) has been announced with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scheduled to lock horns on March 29. The scheduling of the tournament has been done, bearing in mind the availability of the players. It could be one of the reasons why Rajasthan Royals would be starting late in the championship.

The likes of Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, two of their overseas recruits, won’t be part of the T20 championship in the March-leg. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has informed the IPL authorities that the Brits players would be available from April 1 onwards. From March 19 to March 31, the English players would be busy for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Cricket Australia (CA) have also informed that their players would be available only after March 30 as per reports in ESPNcricinfo. The Black Caps and the Aussies are scheduled for the final T20I on March 29 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. A few of the Australian cricketers would also be taking part in the Final of the Sheffield Shield from March 27-31.

IPL to start 11 days after India-South Africa ODIs

The Royals would be starting their campaign on April 2 against the Chennai Super Kings. Stokes and Smith are expected to join the franchise by then. The likes of David Warner, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and James Neesham may not take part in the IPL from the outset. Meanwhile, the IPL will get underway 11 days after the conclusion of India’s home ODI series against South Africa.

Even as the schedule of the round-robin stage has been announced, there’s no confirmation of the play-off dates. But the final is scheduled for May 24. The final league game is on May 17 between the Mumbai team and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

This time around, the IPL won’t be having double-headers on Saturdays. The number of days in the league phase has been increased from 44 to 50. The evening matches will start at 8 PM itself despite reservations from Star Sports, the host broadcasters. The afternoon game will start at 4 PM.