The remainder of the Indian Premier League would be played in the United Arab Emirates in the September-October window with the first match starting on September 19, Sports Today has reported. A 21-day window has been drawn up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the remainder of the 31 games to be played to complete the 14th edition of the season which got curtailed earlier in May due to the covid-19 pandemic. If reports are to be believed, the tournament is set to end with the final on October 10, right ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup.
"The BCCI has spoken to all the stakeholders and the likely start could be between September 18th to 20th. Since September 18 is a Saturday and 19 a Sunday, it is more likely that you would want to re-start it on a weekend date," a BCCI official was quoted as saying to PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The reports further suggest that the dates of India’s England tour will not be changed and BCCI did not make any such request to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Team India’s England tour which begins with WTC Final on June 18 and then the subsequent five-match Test series vs the hosts starting August 4, will end on September 14 as decided. However, on September 15th, Indian players will travel to Dubai instead of coming home. This would be a bubble to bubble transfer and the players will remain in a three-day quarantine in their team hotels.
'The Indian team and the English players who will be available will fly in the same charter flight from Manchester to Dubai," said the BCCI source.
Another speculation suggested in the report is that the Caribbean Premier League which is supposed to end on September 19 would be expedited to end at least three to four days early so that IPL bound West Indies and international players are relieved. Trinbago Knight Riders a CPL franchise, owned by the owners of IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders is supposed to play a key role in the considerations.
"West Indies players will also fly in after completing the Caribbean Premier League engagements. There will be three-day quarantine for players arriving from the UK and the Caribbean,' the source added.
For the 31 matches to be played, there would be 10 doubleheader days and seven matches would be played on single match days. The Four playoffs would then be played to end the tournament. The IPL franchises have been appraised by the BCCI and IPL Governing Council.
'We have been told by the BCCI to be ready for the tournament. We have been given a September 15 to 20 window,' a team official said.
The league was postponed on May 4 after a lot of cases of covid-19 emerged in the Bio-bubble.