There were doubts over the tournament going ahead as planned after 13 members tested positive for COVID-19 from the Chennai Super Kings camp. However, the BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has squashed such doubts and has confirmed that IPL 2020 will begin on 19 September and will go on till 10 November.

Dhumal told IANS, "They (positive members from the CSK camp) all have come negative now. And the IPL will take place as scheduled; there is no doubt about that. Don't worry, players are following the Covid-19 protocols and matches will be played without spectators. So, I don't think there will be any problem with that."

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This comes as a sigh of relief for those who were in doubt about the tournament taking place in the UAE. The only thing fans are waiting for before the tournament begins is the schedule. The IPL schedule usually comes out pretty early but this year has been different.

A lot of factors like the mandatory quarantine periods in different cities, availability of England and Australia players, and the CSK members testing positive played a part in the finalization of the schedule.

Dhumal has said that the IPL chairman Brijesh Patel is working on the schedule and the announcement will be made soon.

"Hopefully the announcement will be made soon. IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel is also there in the UAE and he is working on it. The ECB is helping us in all the way possible. Just hope for the best," he added.

There are less than three weeks remaining for the IPL to begin and if there are no more hiccups, we might get to see the IPL schedule soon!

(Source: IANS)