Brijesh Patel, the IPL Government Council chairman confirmed the final dates of IPL 2020. The 13th edition of IPL will run from September 19 to November 8, as informed by the senior official.
IPL 2020 dates finalized
A BCCI official had told PTI about the possible dates of IPL 2020 on Thursday night. “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.” Within hours, the confirmation came from the chairman of the IPL General Council about the dates. Brijesh Patel told IANS that the dates have been finalized and franchises have been informed accordingly. “We have had a discussion and we are looking at the September 19 to November 8 window for this edition of the league. We have informed the franchise about the same.” He added, “We expect the government approval to come through. It is a full 51-day IPL.”
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While asked about the availability of players for IPL 2020 as the England-Australia series will be ending in the second week of September, Patel explained, “Shouldn’t be a problem. The England-Australia series ends on September 15. So, we should have them flying in directly to Dubai. We will discuss the final matters in the governing council meeting next week.”
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Reason of advancement of IPL 2020 dates
On Monday the ICC had postponed the men’s T20 World Cup and expectedly the possibility of IPL 2020 had started making headlines. There were speculations of the league beginning on September 26 but that would be problematic as the Indian national cricket team is scheduled to travel to Australia. As per the regulations of the Australian government, the Indian national cricket team must observe 14-day quarantine, and hence a delay would make things complicated.
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“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”, mentioned an official. He also added that that the 51-day IPL 2020 will have much less double headers and it is not a curtailed period. “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 the seven-week window,” he added.
