IPL 2021 / IPL 2021 to resume on September 19 in UAE, final on October 15

Dubai: The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which was suspended earlier this year because of the Covid-19 second wave, will resume with a clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on September 19, BCCI has confirmed. The first match of the remainder of the season will be played in Dubai.

The 31 remaining matches will be played at three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah — with Dubai set to host the final on October 15. While Dubai will host the first qualifier on October 10, the eliminator and second qualifier will be played in Sharjah on October 11 and 13 respectively. In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah and 8 in Abu Dhabi.

Here’s the rest of league stage schedule –

MI vs CSK, September 19, 7:30 PM

KKR vs RCB, September 20, 7:30 PM

PBKS vs RR, September 21, 7:30 PM

DC vs SRH, September 22, 7:30 PM

MI vs KKR, September 23, 7:30 PM

RCB vs CSK, September 24, 7:30 PM

DC vs RR, September 25, 3:30 PM

SRH vs PBKS, September 25, 7:30 PM

CSK vs KKR, September 26, 3:30 PM

RCB vs MI, September 26, 7:30 PM

SRH vs RR, September 27, 7:30 PM

KKR vs DC, September 28, 3:30 PM

MI vs PBKS, September 28, 7:30 PM

RR vs RCB, September 29, 7:30 PM

Earlier this year, BCCI had been forced to postpone the IPL after multiple players and support staff tested positive for Covid-19.

After the season was halted, the BCCI had in a press release stated, “The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect…The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind.”

Reports had emerged earlier that the BCCI stands to lose over Rs 2,000 crore of the broadcast and sponsorship money following the midway postponement of the season.

The decision that the pending matches would be played in the UAE had been taken earlier at a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the BCCI.

After the meeting, the BCCI in a press release said: “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year.”