CSK play Mumbai Indians in opener
The Chennai Super Kings will take on defending
champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL’s opening match, officials said on Sunday, despite being the last team to start training after two players tested positive for coronavirus. The fixture list for the league, which runs from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE, was released by BCCI. “There will be 10 double headers... In all, 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi and 12 in Sharjah,” the BCCI said, adding that the venues for the playoffs and the final would be announced later.
MUMBAI: Rohit Sharma had made it public on August 16, inviting MS Dhoni for the first toss of IPL 13 on September 19. The BCCI finally declared on Sunday that it will be defending champions Mumbai Indians versus last year’s finalists Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener at Abu Dhabi.
For the first time, IPL will be played in an extended 53-day window across three Emirati venues. Dubai will stage 24 league games, Abu Dhabi 20, and 12 matches will be played at Sharjah.
“Everybody in India is looking forward to some cricket. For so many months there has been no cricket. And we want to make it a great IPL,” said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal after the schedule was released on Sunday. “There will be challenges for sure. But we are quite confident and doing our best to make it a successful event.” The delay in announcing the schedule was largely due to the Covid-19 positive cases in the CSK camp.
Allowance for England, Australia players Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders begin their campaign on September 22 and 23 respectively, which will minimise the absence of their England-Australia cricketers, who are likely to miss the first week of IPL after their white-ball series in England.
The number of double-headers has been reduced to 10 and there will be none in the first two weeks of competition because of the extreme heat in the UAE. After October 3, each weekend will have double-headers with the afternoon match starting at 2pm local time (3.30 IST). The evening matches will begin at 6pm local time (7.30 IST). Heat will still remain a factor, as day temperature is forecast to be close to 40°C before it gradually dips to the mid-30s later in the month.
Capitals physio Covid+ That two CSK players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, 11 other personnel and a BCCI medical staff member are recovering from Covid-19 is a reminder the virus threat could pop up at any stage. On Sunday, Delhi Capitals assistant physiotherapist Dhananjay Kaushik tested positive. “He was going through his mandatory quarantine, and had tested negative for his first two tests on arrival in Dubai, and tested positive for the third one. He was yet to meet with, and had not been in contact with any players or staff of the franchise,” the franchise said in a statement.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly with other office-bearers will be travelling to the UAE soon, but will only stay there till the start of competition.