The 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), which was plunged into uncertainty with COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc in India, is now all set to be held in UAE.
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On Sunday (July 26), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent an acceptance letter to the Emirates Cricket Board with regards to the hosting of IPL 2020, league chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed to Khaleej Times.
Last week, Patel had announced that they have zeroed in on a 51-day window from September 19 to November 8 for the cash-rich tournament.
"Yes, we have sent the acceptance letter to the Emirates Cricket Board and both the boards will be working together from now on to stage the tournament," Patel said.
"The teams need at least three to four weeks to prepare for the tournament."
On the other hand, Emirates Cricket Board’s Mubashir Usmani said that a formal announcement from the board will be made on Monday (July 27).
"We (the ECB) are going to send a press release on the issue tomorrow (Monday). But at this point in time, I cannot reveal more than that," Usmani told Khaleej Times.
England and Australia cricketers may miss out on some initial matches as their white-ball series in UK will last till September 15. However, Brijesh Patel is not concerned about it.
"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," the IPL Governing Council chairman had said last Friday (July 24).
