IPL 2020: Is This The Reason Why BCCI Is Yet To Announce The Full Schedule?

While the venue as well as the duration of the IPL 2020 have been confirmed, BCCI’s decision of not announcing the complete schedule has been really baffling. The thirteenth edition of the tournament is set to be played in UAE and all the teams have already reached the gulf country to start their preparation for the upcoming edition.

IPL 2020 is scheduled to start from September 19 while the final is scheduled to take place on November 10. But surprisingly, the Indian cricket board is yet to release the complete schedule of the competition. Well, the reason behind the delay could be that the schedule for IPL 2020 might be a dynamic one, according to The Times of India.

Earlier this month, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma congratulated his Chennai Super Kings counterpart MS Dhoni on his international retirement, writing: “Looking forward to meeting at the toss on September 19”

Rohit’s comment suggested that the schedule is more or less ready. The news outlet stated that BCCI has not released the schedule because it is likely to be dynamic because of the pandemic.

The first week of the IPL could possibly see the English and Australian players missing. England and Australia will play three T20Is and as many ODIs next month with the final match scheduled on September 16, just three days before the IPL starts. The players are likely to miss the first week of action in IPL.

“So there is a possibility that matches in the first three or four days can be allotted to teams not majorly dependent on players flying over from the UK,” sources told the news outlet.

Also, there is the possibility of a player from any team testing positive during the tournament. The said player will have to go into quarantine for 14 days, but it will also result in his teammates – or those sharing the same bio bubble – go into quarantine for the six-day mandatory period and once again go through the three mandatory PCR tests.

“If that happens, can that team play on those six days? Possibly not. But the tournament will go on, so it’s necessary to work on the possibility of keeping a schedule flexible enough where matches can be brought forward and delayed, as and when necessary,” added the sources.

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