IPL 2020: Abu Dhabi COVID spike reportedly reason for delay in schedule announcement

While the new rescheduled date for the Indian Premier League (IPL) to begin is September 19 and is to be played in the UAE, there is still no announcement of the IPL 2020 schedule. 

Now, according to media reports, due to spike in COVID-19 cases in Abu Dhabi, it is causing a delay from BCCI to make the schedule announcement. Due to the recent spike, Abu Dhabi’s regional authorities have made a rapid test mandatory at the entry point.

The teams, broadcast crew and other officials, who will be based out of Dubai, will have to incur an additional cost of AED 50. 

Media reports also stated while there were talks of excluding Abu Dhabi as a venue, it has emerged that the board will restrict the number of matches there.

Currently, six teams are based in Dubai, while Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are based in Abu Dhabi. 

Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) may start their training at Sharjah and ICC Academy in Dubai from Thursday.

Earlier, it was also revealed that BCCI officials of state units won't be able to attend "at least the beginning" of the IPL due to the strict bio-bubble, board secretary Jay Shah informed the member associations on Tuesday. 

Shah is also confident that by the end of the tournament, some of the travel restrictions will be relaxed. The IPL final will be played on November 10 - which is a weekday.