The dates of IPL 2021 have reportedly been decided by the BCCI with the window from 19 September to 15 October set to host the remaining 31 matches of the season.
"The first game after the season resumes will be held on September 19 while we will have the final on October 15. The BCCI was always keen on a 25-day window to finish the remaining matches," a BCCI official has been quoted as saying by ANI.
On 29 May, the board had announced their decision to play out the rest of the season in the UAE “considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year”.
The 2021 season was suspended halfway through the season earlier in May after players and support staff in various franchises started testing positive for the virus.
The window for the IPL in the UAE that’s being discussed is the month-long gap between the end of India's Test series in England on 14 September and the start of the T20 World Cup in mid-October. The dates of the World Cup, also hosted by India, have not been released as yet. However, it is believed that the BCCI is looking to host the T20 World Cup as well in the UAE which may increase the load on the pitches at the three venues available in the country.
There is also the matter of player availability that will need to be addressed with the ECB already announcing that their players will not be allowed to miss international duty to play the domestic T20 tournament. Add to that, the busy calendar of the Indian team itself with the Test squad slated to spend the next three and a half months on tour in England and if the IPL does take place, Virat Kohli and his men will be in a non-stop bio-bubble from June till mid November, around the final of the T20 World Cup.
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