The 13th edition of the Indian T20 League is set to begin on September 19 until November 8 in the UAE, with Dubai International Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) and the Sharjah Cricket Stadium jotted down as three venues. The tournament will be played within a 51-day window.
The decision came just a few days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the postponement of this year's men's T20 World Cup due to the global pandemic. The World Cup was initially scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November but has now been pushed back by a year.
"The GC will meet shortly but we have finalised the schedule. It will run from September 19 to November 8. We expect government approval to come through. It is a full 51-day tournament," competition Chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed the development after PTI reported the dates on Thursday, July 23.
“We are making the SOP and it will be ready in a few days. To allow crowd or not depends on the UAE government. Anyway, social distancing has to be maintained. We have left it for their government to decide on that. (We) will also be writing to the UAE board formally,” Patel said.
He also confirmed that while the initial schedule had five doubleheaders, the new one comprises of 12 doubleheaders, meaning that two matches each on both Saturdays and Sundays.
CSA and NZ issue NOC to Indian T20 League-bound players
Cricket South Africa and New Zealand cricket have confirmed that they will issue the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to all of their players bound to play in the Indian T20 League. There are as many as six New Zealand players and ten South African players who are set to be part of the tournament.
“Regarding the tournament, NZC will be issuing NOCs to the relevant players and it’s up to them to decide,” NZC spokesperson Richard Boock told PTI via email.
"Cricket South Africa will definitely provide players with the NOCs for the Indian T20 League," CSA media manager Koketso Gaofetoge told ANI.
The tournament has been held outside India twice before, in years that it clashed with national elections. South Africa hosted the 2009 event and part of it was held in the UAE in 2014.
The 13th edition should have started on March 29 but it has been repeatedly postponed because of a nationwide lockdown enforced over the global virus.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Noah Seelam
