The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) conducted its IPL governing council meeting to discuss and finalize matters related to the IPL 2020 to be hosted in UAE, pending necessary clearances from the Government of India.
It has been decided that the 13th edition of the cash-rich league will be played from September 19 and the final will take place on November 10.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that it was decided to take the IPL into another week and that will see the final being played on November 10. The official also said that to ensure that there is enough spacing between games considering the strict protocol that will be in place, 10 doubleheaders have been planned.
The afternoon matches will begin at 3:30 PM IST and evening matches will begin at 7.30 PM IST. The tournament will be played over a course of 53 days.
"We have decided to go up till November 10 and so the final will be held on a weekday for the first time. Also, to ensure that there are enough gaps between games considering the traveling and the biosecure environment and keeping all these things in mind, we will have 10 doubleheaders this season," the official revealed.
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"We have decided to bring it forward by 30 minutes from the regular time of the IPL which is 8 p.m. for evening games and we will start at 7:30 instead,” he added.
A franchise official also confirmed that they have been asked to start the visa process for their players. "We have been asked to start our visa process," an official of one of the franchises told IANS.
There were also discussions about the Chinese sponsors of IPL, mobile manufacturing company VIVO and the governing council decided to retain them as the sponsors of the upcoming edition of the tournament.
During its meeting on Sunday, the governing council also set a 24-player limit for each squad and approved the use of Covid-19 substitutes.
"Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is still being prepared but there would be any number of COVID replacements this year. Also, the BCCI has received presentations from a DUBAI based group on creating a medical facility in the UAE. The BCCI is also in talks with the Tata Group for creating a bio-bubble,” an IPL GC member said.
The official also revealed that it was decided that no crowd will be allowed at UAE stadiums initially. From the midway point, a limited number of fans might be allowed at stadiums, subject to approval from the UAE government.
Women's T20 Challenge was also approved. A 4-team tournament will be held between November 1 and 10 in the UAE.
(IANS/ESPNCricinfo inputs)
