News Desk: The Indian Premier League Governing Council on Sunday met via video-conference to decide on the issues relating to IPL 2020. The Governing Council decided to stage the tournament in UAE.
Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi are set to host the tournament subject to necessary clearances from the Indian government.
The tournament will start on Sep 19 and end on Nov 10. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST. While the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST.
“Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is still being prepared but there would be any number of COVID replacements this year,” a BCCI official told PTI.
“Also the BCCI has received presentations from a Dubai based group on creating a medical facility in the UAE. The BCCI is also in talks with the Tata Group for creating a bio-bubble,” the official added.
The IPL will allow unlimited COVID-19 replacements considering the delicate health safety situation across the globe.
Each franchise can have a squad strength of 24 in terms of playing members.
The governing council also put the lingering issue of sponsorship to rest. The council decided to retain the Chinese sponsors, at a time when the entire country is boycotting Chinese goods. Vivo will sponsor IPL 2020. As IPL title sponsor, VIVO pays around Rs 440 crore per year, a five-year deal that ends in 2022.
In another major decision, the council announced that the Women’s T20 Challenge will also take place in the UAE. The T20 challenge will comprise of three teams. The teams will play four matches during the IPL Playoff week.
A meeting with the franchises in this regard will take place shortly.
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