The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in its all-important Governing Council meeting of the IPL on Sunday also decided to hold the 13th edition of the league from September 19 to November 10.
“VIVO IPL 2020 will be played from 19th September and the final will be played on 10th November 2020. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST,” said the BCCI in an official statement.
According to ESPNCricinfo, the Governing Council also decided to restrict all squads to 24 players while also allowing the use of unlimited COVID-19 substitues.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that it was decided to take the IPL into another week and that will see the final being played on November 10. The official also said that to ensure that there is enough spacing between games considering the strict protocol that will be in place, 10 double headers have been planned.
“We have decided to go up till November 10 and so the final will be held on a weekday for the first time. Also, to ensure that there is enough gaps between games considering the travelling and the bio secure environment and keeping all these things in mind, we will have 10 double headers this season.”BCCI Official to IANS
Asked about the starting time, the official said that it will be 7:30 p.m. IST for the evening games. "We have decided to bring it forward by 30 minutes from the regular time of the IPL which is 8 p.m. for evening games and we will start at 7:30 instead."
Asked if entry of fans were discussed in the meeting, the official said that these things can be taken care of in consultation with the Emirates Cricket Board.
"It would be great to have some fans come in as that would boost the morale of the players for sure. But what needs to be remembered is that the safety of the players is priority. So, these are things we will discuss with the ECB at the right time," the official said.
Franchises have also been asked to start the visa process. “We have been asked to start our visa process,” an official of one of the franchises told IANS.
Vivo Stays On As Sponsor
The BCCI also decided to continue with Vivo as the title sponsor. While there have been issues between India and China, the decision has been taken keeping in mind the sponsorship agreement and after consulting the legal team.
"The BCCI has taken this decision after the perusal of the sponsorship agreement and the ownership pattern and upon receiving legal advice in the matter," a BCCI official told IANS.
The BCCI had on June 19 tweeted on the matter from its IPL handle. "Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of our brave jawans, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL's various sponsorship deals." the official handle of IPL had said.
This was after the clash between India and China in the Galwan Valley. Twenty Indian Army men, including officers, were killed in an unprecedented violent clash with Chinese People's Liberation Army troops at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.
(With inputs from IANS)
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