Reports | IPL 2020 to kick-off at Wankhede Stadium on March 29
The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is reportedly set to kick off on March 29, 2020, with the match set to be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The teams, however, will be without the services of overseas players of several countries owing to international duty.
The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to a report by the IANS, is set to kick off from March 29 next year, with the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai set to play host for the first match of the global extravaganza. While there is no official confirmation on the matter yet, there was also speculation ahead of the auction that the tournament was set to be hosted in a window between late-March and May.Ā
āI am told that the 2020 edition of the IPL will start on March 29 at Wankhede,ā A Delhi Capitals official was quoted as saying by the IANS.Ā
Should the tournament start on March 29 as speculated, however, it would be a body blow to the teams playing on the first two days, with players from Australia, England and New Zealand scheduled to be available only from April 1, owing to international duty. Whilst England will be touring Sri Lanka for a two-Test series, the Aussies, on the other hand, will be playing a three-match T20I series versus their Trans-Tasman neighbors, with the final T20I set to be played on March 29.Ā
An undisclosed official expressed his dissatisfaction over the speculated start date of March 29, stating that it would considerably handicap the sides playing on the first two days owing to the unavailability of the overseas stars, and hoped that the Governing Council would instead push the start date to April 1 which, in his opinion, would be 'much better'.Ā Ā
"See, while the Australia-New Zealand series ends with the final T20I being played on March 29, the second Test of the series between England and Sri Lanka technically ends only on March 31. In such a scenario, you start the season minus your big players and that isnāt a happy occasion.
"If we do start from April 1, the scenario looks so much better. Hopefully, the IPL GC will see what we are speaking about makes for a consideration,ā the official said.