New Delhi: The Governing Council of Indian Premier League is all set to meet on August 2, Sunday. IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel had already informed IANS that the meeting would take place this week and the notice has now been sent to the GC members.
Speaking to IANS, an official of the IPL GC confirmed the schedule of the meeting, which will take place to give a final shape to the schedule and discuss other arrangements for the eagerly-awaited event to be held in the UAE this year.
The tournament, forced out of the country due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, will be held from September 19 to November 8.
"We have been informed that the IPL GC will take place on Sunday and all matters related to the organisation of the 13th edition of the IPL will be discussed in the meeting," the official said.
Another top official of the BCCI said that the eight franchises will get a clear picture of the tournament's modalities during the meeting.
"It is expected that franchises will be handed the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) after the meeting," the senior official said on condition of anonymity.
The meeting, expected to be attended by top BCCI brass, including President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, would address concerns of various stakeholders.
The tenures of both Ganguly and Shah are over but the two have sought a relaxation in the Lodha Committee-recommended cooling off norms from the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter on August 17.
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Monday that they have received the official Letter of Intent from the BCCI to host the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"We have received the (official) letter and now wait on the decision from the Indian Government which will ink the final deal," said Mubashshir Usmani, Emirates Cricket Board Secretary General, in a press release.
While the board waits for a notice from BCCI that the Indian Government has approved to move the IPL from India (to the UAE), Usmani stated both boards have fully mobilised and have instigated discussions with the relevant authorities, including their respective internal working-committees, in preparation of hosting the tournament (touted as starting September 19 with the final proposed for November 8) in a safe, protected environment.
Earlier, speaking to IANS, Patel had said that the September 19 to November 8 window had been blocked for the hosting of the league. "We have had a discussion and we are looking at the September 19 to November 8 window for this edition of the league. We have informed the franchise about the same," he said.
The window could see some discussion as the England and Australia players will be engaging in a series in the UK till September 15 and that could mean them missing the first few games of their respective franchises. But Patel said it shouldn't be an issue and these things are set to be discussed in the Governing Council meeting.
"Shouldn't be a problem. The England-Australia series ends on September 15. So, we should have them flying in directly to Dubai. We will discuss the final matters in the governing council meeting next week," he said.
Also, most likely, this edition of the IPL would have less number of double-headers which would be beneficial for broadcasters.
Ways to negate the loss of gate money for the franchises, since the matches will be played before empty stadiums in a bio-secure environment, will also be a major topic of discussion.
While it is expected that most of the franchises will send their recce teams to the UAE to check out the facilities as well as the bio-secure environment that can be created, there are concerns that remain, including accommodation plan and catering services.
Another tricky issue that is likely to come up is whether families of the players would be allowed to accompany them.
