IPL 2021 Schedule Released By BCCI, Tournament To Resume On 19th September In Dubai

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now released the schedule of the 2nd phase of IPL 2021 and the tournament is all set to begin on September 19 in Dubai. The BCCI has now officially released the new IPL 2021 schedule after the tournament got suspended earlier this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak in multiple franchises. BCCI has already made it clear that the remainder of IPL 2021 will take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year.

As per some media reports that were released prior to the official confirmation, IPL 2021 was set to resume from September 19 and the final of the tournament was to take place on October 15. Notably, the ICC T20 World Cup is also slated to begin from October 18 this year and the tournament has now also been officially shifted to the UAE.

BCCI Releases The New IPL 2021 Schedule

IPL 2021 began with a bang on April 10 this year as the two heavyweights of the tournament, Royal Challengeb(RCB) and Mumbai Indians took on each other in the maiden game of the tournament. However, after 29 enthralling games of cricket, the tournament had to be halted due to COVID-19 outbreak in multiple franchises.

IPL will resume with the blockbuster clash of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. In total, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah and 8 in Abu Dhabi. There will be a total of 7 doubleheaders (5 matches already played in India – total of 12 matches) with the first match starting at 3:30 PM IST (2:00 PM Gulf Standard Time). All evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST (6:00 PM Gulf Standard Time).

The final game of the league stage will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals on 8th October.

The 1st Qualifier will be played in Dubai on 10th October. The Eliminator & Qualifier 2 will be played in Sharjah on 11th & 13th October respectively with Dubai hosting the Final of VIVO IPL 2021 on 15th October this year.

Four Franchises Affected By The Outbreak

A total of 4 franchises were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in the tournament this year. First up, a couple of players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tested positive for the virus. The, support staff from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) tested positive for the virus. SunRisers Hyderabad’s wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha tested positive for COVID the very next day followed by Amit Mishra of Delhi Capitals.

Delhi Capitals were on top of the IPL 2021 points table when the tournament came to a halt followed by Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Inddians (MI) on the 2nd, 3rd, and the 4th place respectively. Shikhar Dhawan held the Orange Cap when the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League came to a standstill while Harshal Patel, the all-rounder from RCB, held the Purple Cap.