The 2020 IPL schedule is finally here and we can’t stop gushing about the fact that the tournament is finally going to take off after months of anticipation. The initial conundrums surrounding Chennai Super Kings players who tested positive for the virus being sorted has ensured that the schedule hasn’t undergone much changes except the venues.
What to know about the venues?
The IPL will see matches being staged in three venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
- 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi and 13 in Sharjah.
- Sharjah is possibly the most batting friendly of the three venues.
- Sharjah has hosted 14 T20Is, Dubai international cricket stadium has had 62 matches and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi 45 T20 international matches.
- There have only been six 200-plus totals registered in these three venues combined in T20Is, giving us an idea of the kind of wickets to expect for the tournament.
- The average run-rate in each of these grounds is less than 7.5.
What to know about the structure of the schedule?
The IPL 2020 schedule was always going to follow the expected format but because of the venue shift and the time duration of the tournament, there are a few changes.
- There will be 10 double headers in all in IPL 2020
- The first double header will only be played on October 3 meaning that for nearly two weeks the IPL will see just one match each.
- All evening games start at 6PM UAE time or 7.30 PM IST.
- There will be 46 days of league matches alone.
- The schedule does not include dates and venues for the play-offs and finals.
Which franchises are crippled?
Sunrisers Hyderabad – With England and Australia players now needing to serve six days of quarantine after their arrival from England following the ODI series, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hit hard as David Warner and Jonny Bairstow will be missing from their ranks. The conundrum for them is that they will be without these two gun players for their first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on September 21st. Their subsequent fixtures are against Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals.
Mumbai Indians – The franchise opted to not add a spin option when Lasith Malinga ruled himself out of the season even when they were short-staffed in the spin department. With Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar their primary spinners, Mumbai seem to lack a potent spinner who can change games. Mumbai play 11 of their 14 league games in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, known for their slow wickets. They also face CSK, KKR and RCB, three very strong teams for this season, in their first three fixtures.
Which franchises are benefited?
Kings XI Punjab – Kings XI Punjab might not be the most fancied team in the IPL for this season but they sure have a reasonable start to their fixtures with them set to face Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in their first three games. They, however, go on to meet MI, CSK and SRH on the bounce after that.
Chennai Super Kings – Even with key players missing, CSK are strong in the spin department and are benefited by the fact that they play two of their three games on the more batting friendly Sharjah wicket against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, not the most potent batting line-ups in the league.
The spread of venues for franchises
Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders play a eight matches each in Abu Dhabi while the Sunrisers Hyderabad will play eight of their matches in Dubai.
The Chennai Super Kings play seven games in Dubai. Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore also have seven fixtures each in Dubai.
Rajasthan Royals play six matches in Dubai and five in Abu Dhabi, and three in Sharjah.
The full IPL schedule
September 19 — 7:30PM ABU DHABI MUMBAI INDIANS vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
September 20 — 7:30PM DUBAI DELHI CAPITALS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
September 21 — 7:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABADvs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
September 22 — 7:30PM SHARJAH RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
September 23 — 7:30PM ABU DHABI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs MUMBAI INDIANS
September 24 — 7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
September 25 — 7:30PM DUBAI CHENNAI SUPER KINGS vs DELHI CAPITALS
September 26 — 7:30PM ABU DHABI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
September 27 — 7:30PM SHARJAH RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
September 28 — 7:30PM DUBAI ROYAL CHALLENGERS vs BANGALORE MUMBAI INDIANS
September 29 –7:30PM ABU DHABI DELHI CAPITALS vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
September 30 –7:30PM DUBAI RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 1 –7:30PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs MUMBAI INDIANS
October 2 — 7:30PM DUBAI CHENNAI SUPER KINGS vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
October 3 –3:30PM ABU DHABI ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 3 –7:30PM SHARJAH DELHI CAPITALS vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 4 –3:30PM SHARJAH MUMBAI INDIANS vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
October 4 –7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB CHENNAI vs SUPER KINGS
October 5 –7:30PM DUBAI ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 6 –7:30PM ABU DHABI MUMBAI INDIANS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 7 –7:30PM ABU DHABI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
October 8 –7:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
October 9 –7:30PM SHARJAH RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 10 –3:30PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 10 –7:30PM DUBAI CHENNAI SUPER KINGS ROYAL vs CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
October 11 –3:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 11 –7:30PM ABU DHABI MUMBAI INDIANS vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 12 –7:30PM SHARJAH ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 13 –7:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
October 14 –7:30PM DUBAI DELHI CAPITALS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 15 –7:30PM SHARJAH ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
October 16 –7:30PM ABU DHABI MUMBAI INDIANS vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 17 –3:30PM DUBAI RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
October 17 –7:30PM SHARJAH DELHI CAPITALS vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
October 18 –3:30PM ABU DHABI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 18 –7:30PM DUBAI MUMBAI INDIANS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
October 19 –7:30PM ABU DHABI CHENNAI SUPER KINGS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 20 –7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 21 –7:30PM ABU DHABI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
October 22 –7:30PM DUBAI RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
October 23 –7:30PM SHARJAH CHENNAI SUPER KINGS vs MUMBAI INDIANS
October 24 –3:30PM ABU DHABI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 24 –7:30PM DUBAI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
October 25 –3:30PM DUBAI ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
October 25 –7:30PM ABU DHABI RAJASTHAN ROYALS vs MUMBAI INDIANS
October 26 –7:30PM SHARJAH KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
October 27 –7:30PM DUBAI SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs DELHI CAPITALS
October 28 –7:30PM ABU DHABI MUMBAI INDIANS ROYAL vs CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
October 29 –7:30PM DUBAI CHENNAI SUPER KINGS vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
October 30 –7:30PM ABU DHABI KINGS XI PUNJAB vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
October 31 –3:30PM DUBAI DELHI CAPITALS vs MUMBAI INDIANS
October 31 –7:30PM SHARJAH ROYAL CHALLENGERS vs BANGALORE SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
November 1 –3:30PM ABU DHABI CHENNAI SUPER vs KINGS KINGS XI PUNJAB
November 1 –7:30PM DUBAI KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS
November 2 –7:30PM ABU DHABI DELHI CAPITALS ROYAL vs CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
November 3 –7:30PM SHARJAH SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs MUMBAI INDIANS