IPL 2020 Likely To Take Place In September After World T20 2020 Gets Postponed: Report

The arguably most-awaited cricket tournament of the calendar year, Indian Premier League (IPL) could be played September with the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 officially postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

IPL, which is usually played between March and May every year, is reportedly set to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates and could begin Sept. 26.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently postponed the T20 World Cup 2020, which was originally scheduled to be played in Australia from October to November. It will now be held either 2021 or 2022. With the World Cup making way off the calendar, it has given a chance for the IPL to finally take place and, according to renowned cricket website ESPN Cricinfo, the entire tournament will be played in the UAE and the final is expected to be played on either Nov. 7 or 8.

The report has also revealed that the BCCI has written to the Indian government seeking permission for the tournament to be shifted to the UAE and also obtain the required travel permission for the players and officials of the teams.

Earlier this year when the pandemic shook the world first, the BCCI had suspended the IPL indefinitely which was supposed to commence March 29. With over a million cases at present, India is currently the third most affected country in the world after the U.S. and Brazil and has officially recorded over 26,000 deaths.

Speaking in an interview, IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel has said that the Indian board will seek the government’s permission in the next couple of weeks regarding IPL’s plans.

"Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks (BCCI) will seek clearances from the government for the tournament (IPL) to be played in the UAE. The UAE government offered us to host the IPL in their country and we are very much aware of the facilities and situation there. The IPL (first leg) was played there (UAE) in 2014 so we know what we are looking at," Patel added.

Four-time winners Mumbai Indians are the defending champions. They defeated MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by just one run in the final last year that was played in Hyderabad.