The suspended fourteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to resume on 18 or 19 September in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while the final of the tournament might be held on 9 or 10 October. A senior official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told PTI on 25 May.
The official said: ‘The BCCI has spoken to all the stakeholders and the likely start could be between September 18th to 20th. Since September 18 is a Saturday and 19 a Sunday, it is more likely that you would want to restart it on a weekend date’.
Considering the available window between England Tests (concluding on 14 September) and the upcoming T20I World Cup, the BCCI has already decided to cancel India’s T20 series against South Africa, scheduled in September.
‘The series can’t be held and in any case, there can’t be any better preparation for the T20 World Cup than playing a high-intensity tournament like IPL’, added the BCCI source. ‘Since the T20 World Cup will start within a week or 10 days after completion of the IPL, the SA series can only be held at a later date. There is a chance that India might play extra games when they tour South Africa early next year’.
If the remainder of IPL 2021 goes as per the reported plan, there will be 10 double headers and seven evening matches in the UAE leg, along with Playoffs games over a 25-day window.
Further, ANI reported that the decision will be taken after the Special General Meeting on 29 May, confirming by another BCCI official. The source quoted saying: ‘This is a tentative plan and will be discussed during the SGM on Saturday’.
The tournament was postponed on 4 May after multiple players and support staff tested positive for COVID-19 inside its bio-bubble.