No India-South Africa T20I Series Ahead Of IPL 2020 As BCCI Advances Tournament By A Week

The window for IPL 2020 has been finally announced. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, on Friday, confirmed that the thirteenth edition of the tournament will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10. The IPL will comprise 60 matches and will be played over 51 days (in case final is on November 8).

The tournament is set to be played in UAE although the BCCI is yet to get the green light from the government to relocate the compeition. Earlier this week Patel had said that the permission would come and had confirmed Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will be the three main venues for the tournament.

No series between India and South Africa:

Earlier this week, there were several media reports suggesting that India could lock horns against South Africa ahead of the IPL in a three-match T20I series. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, few stakeholders of the BCCI wanted Team India to play a short series before the IPL against South Africa. BCCI and Cricket South Africa have a few common stakeholders.

Both the teams were scheduled to play three T20I games in August although the series was not part of the original Future Tours Program. However, with the BCCI now advancing the IPL by a week, the chances of the series between India and South Africa is all but over. Earlier, the league’s window was from September 26 to November 8.

The Times of India has reported that the advancement of the league’s starting date has put an end to all speculation surrounding the three-match white-ball series that was being planned against South Africa.

The report further stated that the IPL franchises are clear in their demand that they would like their players to assemble a minimum of three weeks before the start of the tournament and should the IPL entourage fly to the UAE even by mid-August, the players will always keep running short on time to catch-up after having played no cricket for close to six months.

Well, no series against South Africa before IPL means Team India will resume international cricket during the tour of Australia later this year. Virat Kohli & Co. have not played a game since the tour of New Zealand ended in early March. India are scheduled to play four-match Test series in Australia towards the end of the year.

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