IPL 2020 schedule will be released on September 6: Brijesh Patel

As the commencement of IPL 2020 is nearing with every passing day, the excitement of fans is also notching up. Every cricket fanatic is eager to witness the T20 extravaganza in the UAE this year.

All fans were eagerly waiting for the IPL 2020 schedule to roll out by the end of August. After the delay, it was predicted that the fixtures will be announced on Friday (September 4) but the announcement was pushed further. According to developments, the fixtures will be released on September 6.

Brijesh Patel, IPL’s Chairman, quashed all the speculations and confirmed that the IPL 2020 schedule is set to roll out tomorrow on Sunday (September 6). “The schedule will be released tomorrow,” said Patel as quoted by Times Now.

The schedule was initially expected to come out by August end

As per reports, the board was forced the delay the announcement as it was looking to prepare a flexible schedule. The flexible schedule will see the board make late changes in fixtures if needed, considering the situation in which the tournament is going to be played.

The schedule was initially slated to come out by the end of August itself but it was pushed further after multiple members of CSK squad tested COVID-19 positive. Nothing is confirmed so far but CSK fans want them to clash with Mumbai Indians in the opening fixture of the tournament.

As per the norms, the defending champions face the runner-up of the previous year in the season opener. However, in the last edition, it was Royal Challengers Bangalore who faced the Chennai franchise in the opening game. Going by the rules, they should have played Sunrisers Hyderabad.

IPL 2020 final is locked on November 10th and it will be for the first time that the final will be played on a weekday. All matches are scheduled across three venues in the UAE– Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai.

UAE has also hosted IPL in the past. In 2014, the BCCI had hosted the cash-rich league in UAE due to General Elections. The first 20 matches of that edition were hosted in the Gulf country. The BCCI was forced to shift the IPL to UAE this year with a surge in COVID-19 cases in India.