IPL to resume in the UAE with ‘blockbuster clash’
THE Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket tournament, will resume in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 19, more than four months after it was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said last Sunday (25).
“A total number of 31 matches will be played in the duration of 27 days,” said a statement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“The 14th season, which was postponed in May in the wake of the pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians,” it added.
The tournament was only half finished when it was halted in India on May 4 after a number of players and team officials caught Covid despite being in bio-secure bubbles.
Under the new schedule, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah and eight in Abu Dhabi.
The final will be staged in Dubai on October 15, just two days before the rescheduled Twenty20 World Cup gets underway, also in the Gulf.
In the new-look IPL, there will be seven double headers. The final game of the league stage will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals on October 8.
The first qualifier will be in Dubai on October 10 with the eliminator qualifier 2 to be played in Sharjah on October 11 and 13.
The World T20 was originally meant to take place in Australia at the end of 2020, but it was called off as the pandemic swept across the globe.
It was then switched to India before it was rescheduled again to be staged in Oman and the UAE from October 17 to November 14.
The BCCI remains the ‘host’ of the World T20, but the tournament will now be held across four venues – the Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, as well as the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.