IPL 2020 To Be Held In UAE, Confirms IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel

Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel has confirmed that the IPL 2020 will be held in UAE. The thirteenth edition of the tournament, which was scheduled to be played between March-May, was suspended indefinitely in the light of the pandemic.

The BCCI was waiting for ICC’s final call on this year’s T20 World Cup before starting the final preparation for the tournament. The ICC finally announced the fate of the tournament on Monday, confirming that the T20 World Cup has been postponed. The marquee event was scheduled to take place in October-November in Australia.

The BCCI will now use that window to conduct the IPL. The IPL is expected to begin on September 26 with the final either on November 7 or 8 with 60 matches to be played in this duration. The schedule is likely to be announced after the IPL council’s meeting in the coming days.

And ahead of that meeting, Brijesh Patel has confirmed that the tournament will be played in UAE. He also said that the board has already applied to seek government’s permission.

“IPL 2020, that was postponed due to coronavirus, will now be held in the UAE. We have applied for the government’s permission. We will discuss the further course of action in IPL General Council,” Brijesh Patel was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier, UAE and Sri Lanka had expressed their desire of hosting the IPL. UAE is not new to hosting the tournament. In 2014, they had hosted the initial phase of the competition due to the general elections in India. BCCI’s first priority was to host the tournament in India.

But with the situation in the country showing little signs of improvement, the board has decided to move to UAE. The coronavirus cases are increasing at an alarming rate in the country.

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