IPL 2020 to be held from Sept 19 to Nov 10, Covid-19 protocols to come soon

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) will be played from 19th September and the final will be played on 10th November 2020. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST.

The tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

The Governing Council also discussed the comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which will be finalised and published in due course, including the agencies to execute and deliver a bio-secure environment for safe and successful conduct of IPL 2020 Season.

The Governing Council also reviewed the Player Regulations for replacement player for 2020 season. 

The Governing Council also decided to retain all its sponsors, including Chinese mobile company VIVO, and approved Covid-19 replacements in the event to be held in UAE this year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear to all the IPL franchises that no team can leave for the UAE before August 20. Earlier, there were reports that both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians could be looking to leave for Abu Dhabi around August 10 or 12, news agency IANS quoted sources.

"We have been informed by a mail from the IPL GC that we can leave for UAE after August 20. So, there is no question of anyone going there before that. The diktat is pretty clear here," IANS quoted a franchise official as saying.

"We have not got the SOPs yet, but we have been given the go-ahead to start preparation and the visa process will start from tomorrow onwards. The hotels have already been blocked so that is no issue. The blueprints are ready," the franchise official said.

While the BCCI issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to the state associations for the resumption of cricket on Sunday, the IPL teams are expecting the same soon. But they are starting the visa process from Monday.

The BCCI is optimistic of getting the complete go-ahead from the government in the coming week to move the tournament to UAE. "The BCCI has received clearance from the Sports Ministry and we are hopeful of a positive response from the other departments quite soon as well," a BCCI official had told IANS on Saturday.

As for the SOPs, the BCCI in a release said: "The Governing Council also discussed the comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures, which will be finalised and published in due course, including the agencies to execute and deliver a bio-secure environment for safe and successful conduct of IPL 2020 Season."

It is expected that the squad strength in terms of playing members will be 24 in the eight franchises.

In another major decision, the IPL GC also approved the women's IPL.