The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) from September 19 to November 8 in the United Arab Emirates, pending the Central government’s approval. The league’s 13th edition had earlier been postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“In consultation with various stakeholders, we have decided on the window considering various aspects. The governing council will be convened once we get a formal response from the government, which we hope will happen early next week,” IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel told The Hindu on Friday.
The Hindu understands that Mr. Patel, BCCI’s interim CEO Hemang Amin and other BCCI office-bearers have been involved in discussions with the IPL franchises, the broadcast partner and the Emirates Cricket Board over the last couple of days.
The BCCI had initially proposed September 26 to November 8 as the window, but decided to advance the start by a week in order to reduce the number of afternoon matches, which are both physically challenging for players and not as attractive in terms of advertising revenue for the broadcaster as night matches.
This additional week means that only weekends will stage double-headers (both afternoon and night games).
The matches are set to start at 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. (both IST), instead of the conventional 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. — a change in accordance with the broadcaster’s demand that the governing council is likely to formalise during its meeting next week.
If the BCCI secures the government’s approval, this will be the second instance of the UAE hosting the IPL. In 2014, the first 20 games of the 60-match tournament were played there to avoid a scheduling clash with the Lok Sabha election. The IPL was also shifted overseas for the same reason in 2009, when South Africa played host.
