IPL 2020 to start from 19th September: Reports

24 Jul, 2020 By Editor

The 13th season of the Indian Premier League may start sooner than what reports had claimed earlier. The league is expected to get underway from September 19 with the final slated for November 8, as per a PTI report.

The tournament for the 3rd time in its history is moving out of the country and will be played in United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Although the Governing Council meeting is yet to take place, sources have said that that the BCCI wants to start the tournament from September 19.

For the past few days, media reports had suggested the tournament may start in the third week of September but the board wants to kick off the tournament to ensure the Indian team has enough time to prepare for the Australia tour post the tournament.

India will be travelling to Australia for a 4-Test match series which is slated to start from December 3. And in all the likelihood, the team will have to stay in a mandatory 14-day quarantine period before the series. 

There is no official confirmation on the dates so far. However, it is learnt that the BCCI has already informed the stakeholders about the new schedule and have been asked to prepare accordingly.

"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," a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI.

IPL 2020 will be a full-fledged tournament with 60 games across 51 days, and there will be no more than five double-headers. The teams are expected to leave by August 20 to have to ensure they have at least a month’s time to prepare for the tournament.

"The Indian team will have a mandatory quarantine of 14 days as per 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 doubleheaders. We could stick to the original five doubleheaders in the seven-week window," the BCCI official was quoted as saying.