After huge speculations about conducting the IPL game this year, finally, the Indian Premier League (IPL)2020 fixture was announced on Sunday by the IPL Governing Council.  The thirteenth season of the IPL was supposed to begin from March 29. However, it was postponed by the Cricket council body BCCI due to Covid-19. The game has been shifted to UAE due to the Covid-19 pandemic in India. It is the second time that the tournament is being held outside India. 

IPL 2020

The tournaments will kick-start with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on runners-up Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on September 19. In addition to IPL, the upcoming T20 game has been set to be held in UAE in the three venues of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.  

As the first match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings set to begin on September 19, all players of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have undergone the Covid-19 test. All of them got negative tests. The entire Chennai team, who are in quarantine, can now start practice. However, the two Chennai players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad who got tests positive last week are residing in a separate hotel and they will be tested two more times. After two tests, they’ll be allowed to practice. Chennai players have started practicing from Friday.

It’s believed that according to sources the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly will be touring to Dubai to assess the current situations and look after the preparations and commencement of IPL 2020. Seven Indian Commentators for IPL have been shortlisted by the BCCI for IPL that begins from September 19.

All Australian players along with opener David Warner are certain to play in IPL 2020 if the T20 World Cup is postponed due to the novel Covid-19 pandemic. The international cricket council body ICC has to decide the schedule of the T20 match while considering the IPL 2020 match. It is expected, according to sources, that the T20 match may be postponed.

New Zealand all-rounder Ben Stokes is unlikely to play for Rajasthan Royals for the first few matches as he is currently in his hometown New Zealand.  As Ben Stokes’s father was diagnosed with brain cancer, he may not play for the first few games for Rajasthan Royals.

Key points to note concerning IPL 2020 schedule:

1.       All the evening games will commence at 6 PM (UAE time) at 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time.
2.       A total of 56 matches will be held in Abu Dhabi. Out of which 24 matches will be played in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi, and 12 in Sharjah.
3.       There will be 10 doubleheaders with the first match beginning at 3:30 PM Indian Standard Time.
4.       The league phase runs across 46 days.