Reports: IPL 2020 set to start on September 19; teams to leave base by August 20

The much-awaited 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to commence on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates. The IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel had earlier confirmed that the tournament won’t happen in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the BCCI is still awaiting the permission from government and is expected to approve the schedule next week in a meeting.

It is also understood that the board informally intimidated the franchises about the overall plan. The T20 extravaganza was supposed to start in March this year but the worsening condition across the world due to Coronavirus had led to it getting suspended until further notice. But the postponement of the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in October in Australia opened up a window for the IPL to take place.

“IPL, in all likelihood, will start on September 19 (Saturday) and the final will be held on November 8 (Sunday). It is a 51-day window which will suit the franchises as well as the broadcasters and other stakeholders,” the BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

IPL start date preponed for Australia tour

Earlier, the BCCI was planning to stage the IPL from September 26 to November 8. But they have decided to prepone it by one week to not jeopardise India’s Australia tour. The 14-day quarantine period for the visiting team is mandatory and to end the tournament beyond November 8 would’ve made things difficult. Also, the 51-day window will pave way for less double headers.

“The Indian team will have a mandatory quarantine of 14 days as per the Australian government rules. A delay would have sent the plans haywire. The best part is that 51 days is not at all a curtailed period and there will be much less double headers. We could stick to original five double headers in seven week window,” the official added.

All the teams now will need at least a month’s time to train in the UAE and the franchises are reportedly set to leave their base by August 20.