Reports: IPL 2020 final likely to be played on November 10

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year due to the worsening condition of the pandemic in India. The IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed last week the same while stating that the tournament will commence from September 19. A full 51-day window is available for the T20 extravaganza to take place thanks to the T20 World Cup getting cancelled.

However, the reports are now coming in that the final earlier slated for November 8 is likely to be postponed to November 10. The IPL governing council is due to meet this week on Saturday (August 1) to finalise the schedule and other required details of the competition.

The BCCI is postponing the IPL final’s date in order to utilise the Diwali week according to the reports in Times of India. If that happens, the title clash will take place on a weekday for the first time in the cash-rich league’s 13-year history. It is also understood that the date is being pushed back to avoid cramping of schedule for team India players who are slated to fly to Australia for the four-match Test series starting from December 3.

Team India to fly to Australia from UAE itself

They will have to be in quarantine for 14 days in Australia according to the country’s health guidelines. Moreover, the sources close to the developments have also stated that the players will remain in the UAE even if their team gets knocked out from the IPL early and wait for it to end. This means, the Indian team will directly leave for Australia after the IPL which will be a long layoff for them away from home.

“Even if the players are left without any IPL matches, they will continue to remain in UAE and participate in a camp there. As soon as the IPL is over, the remaining players busy playing the final knockout matches of the league will join the rest and the entire team will fly together from there,” the sources said. Meanwhile, it is also being speculated that every team will be put in separate bio bubble during the tournament and there will be no contact with outsiders.