IPL 2020: The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ANI reported IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel as saying. “IPL 2020, that was postponed due to coronavirus, will now be held in the UAE. We have applied for the government’s permission. We will discuss the further course of action in IPL General Council”, IPL Chairman, Brijesh Patel said.
The schedule for the IPL 2020 has not been decided yet and the BCCI will finalise the schedule for the tournament in the next IPL Governing Council Meeting after getting the requisite permissions from the government. Brijesh Patel expressed hope that it will be done by next week.
Postponement for the ICC World T20 gave a shot in the arm to the BCCI who was looking for a potential window between September to November to host the IPL. Both World T20 and the IPL could not be organised simultaneously and hence the BCCI was bidding for its time to speed up its preparedness for the IPL till the time the ICC had not deferred the World T20 to 2020, originally scheduled to take place in Australia.
IPL 2020 in UAE- Franchisees’ preparations
Even before the deferment of the World T20 by the ICC and the decision to host IPL 2020 in the UAE by the BCCI took shape, IPL franchises have begun their planning for logistics and training for their players in India before heading off to the UAE or in the UAE itself.
Various media reports suggest that some of the team owners are of the view that the option of chartered flights to carry team crew and players is a viable option while some others have also started looking for hotels to accommodate players and support staff in the UAE. Some franchisees have also asked for the permission of quarantining their players and support staff in India, before heading to the UAE for the IPL’s 13th edition.