The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which was suspended earlier this year because of the Covid-19 second wave, will resume in the UAE from September 19 onwards and Indian Express reported that sources have confirmed the tournament will see Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) clashing in the re-opening bout.

The 31 remaining matches will be played at three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah — with Dubai set to host the final on October 15. While Dubai will host the first qualifier on October 10, the eliminator and second qualifier will be played in Sharjah on October 11 and 13 respectively.

In May this year, BCCI had been forced to postpone the IPL after multiple players and support staff tested positive for Covid-19. The league was being played in India behind closed doors and in strict bio-bubble security, but the breach, combined with a raging second wave of the pandemic forced BCCI to pause it midway.

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Reports had emerged earlier that the BCCI stands to lose over Rs 2,000 crore of the broadcast and sponsorship money following the midway postponement of the season.

However, with the second wave dying down, the BCCI decided to plan the resumption of the tournament but decided against holding it in India and went with UAE as the venue, which had successfully hosted the IPL 2020 under similar circumstances.

After the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the BCCI, the board released the statement saying: “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year.”

Notably, Mumbai Indians had defeated Chennai Super Kings in their previous encounter in IPL 2021 on May 1 after chasing down the 219-run target with Kieron Pollard's 87* off 34 balls. 

(Indian Express inputs)