Finalists from the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, will take each other on in the first game of the 2020 edition at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
The league games will start on March 29 and run till May 17th with only six double-headers this time around. There will be no double headers on Saturdays this time with BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, confirming that there will be no change in the timing of night matches.
“There will be no change in the timing of IPL night games. It will start from 8 pm like earlier years. We will have only five double headers (4 pm and 8 pm) this time. We have decided to reduce the number of double headers,” Ganguly had said.
A week longer league phase
The league games that run till May 17th will be succeeded by the play-offs which will see the usual eliminator (between the third and fourth placed teams in the league), qualifier one (between first and second placed teams) and qualifier two (between winners of eliminator and losers of qualifier one) followed by the finals.
The knockout schedule isn’t released yet by the IPL Governing Council, but it has been revealed that the finals will be played in Mumbai on May 24th. The removal of double-headers will mean that the league phase is one week longer this time around. The league lasts for 50 days this year with the previous season lasting six days less with double headers played on Saturdays.
India have a home ODI series against South Africa just before the start of the IPL 2020 season. The series ends on March 18th, leaving just 11 days for the start of the IPL. The norm set by the Lodha Committee says that there needs to be a 15-day window between international matches and the IPL calendar.
Another exciting season lies ahead…
The prelude to the IPL, the grand IPL auctions, was conducted on December 19 at Kolkata. A total of 62 players were sold, bolstering squads with new players ahead of the new season. Rs 140.30 crore was spent in total in the auctions for this season.
This year, with the few schedule changes, the T20 league will have a new avatar. While some franchises are busy preparing for the big league by adding or replacing their coaching personnel, a few others like Royal Challengers Bangalore are active on social media by changing their logo.
The opening game of the season is the humdinger between the two most successful teams in the history of the league and will present a great start to this season. Let’s get you ready for this year’s IPL show! Check our latest odds here and win big!
Here is the full fixture list for the league phase.
*Note that this schedule may be subject to change for any reason as may be required in the sole discretion of BCCI.
