Aakash Chopra Welcomes IPL Governing Council's Move To Start The Evening Games At 07:30 PM

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener-turned commentator, has welcomed the IPL Governing council’s move to bring forward the timing of night games by 30 minutes for the upcoming season.

The 2020 edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League will kickstart from Septemeber 19 in the UAE. The tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place between March 29-May 24 was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19. With India currently experiencing a surge in corona cases, the BCCI was forced to move the tournament to the UAE.

“Taking note of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India, the IPL GC decided to stage the tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India,” read a BCCI release.

The IPL Governing Council met on Sunday [August 02], where a plethora of details regarding the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league was finalized, one of them being the timing of night games. In the past seasons of the IPL, one of the many talking points has been the timing of night games. The night fixtures used to start at 08:00 PM IST and the game would normally finish by midnight.

“IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 and the final will be played on November 10, 2020. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST,” the BCCI release added.

Also Read: IPL 2020: Blow For MI, CSK As BCCI Tells Franchises Teams Can Leave For UAE Only After August 20

‘IPL matches starting at 7:30 in the evening is a good move’- Aakash Chopra

Welcoming the move to start the evening games at 07:30 PM, Aakash Chopra he would like the games to start at the same time even when the tournament is held in India in the future.

“The IPL matches starting at 7:30 in the evening is a good move. The matches should not be starting later than 7:30 even in India as well in my opinion, the matches that start at 8 usually end up going till 11:30 or 11:45,” Aakash Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

Coming back to the IPL GC meeting, the 53-day tournament will witness ten double-header games and the final of the tournament- for the first time in IPL history- will be played on a weekday [November 10]. During the meeting, the SOP’s were also discussed. The same will be published in due course.

“IPL’s GC also discussed the comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which will be finalised and published in due course, including the agencies to execute and deliver a bio-secure environment for the safe and successful conduct of IPL 2020 Season.” said a BCCI press release.

In the same meeting, it was also confirmed that Women’s T20 Challenge, comprising of three teams and four matches, will be played between the IPL playoff week i.e November 01-10.

Also Read: IPL 2020: Covid-19 Replacements, 24-Members Squads And Everything You Need To Know About This Year’s Tournament