BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday took a flight for for Dubai to oversee the preparations of a bio-secure IPL starting from September 19.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the T20 event, which has been moved to the UAE due to the rising COVID-19 cases in India.

 

 

 

 

 

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My first charter flight in 6months to dubai for IPL.. crazy life changes ..

A post shared by SOURAV GANGULY (@souravganguly) on Sep 8, 2020 at 8:09pm PDT

The BCCI was able to create a window for the IPL following the postponement of the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October-November. The Board would have faced a revenue loss of Rs 4000 crore if the tournament, which usually takes place in April-May, had not got the go ahead.

IPL chairman Brijesh Patel is among the other key officials who are already in Dubai.

The tournament, despite its strict health safety measures, has already endured instances of contingent members testing positive for the dreaded virus.

Fans will not be allowed inside stadiums when the league starts but some crowd might be approved in the later stages of the tournament after a review of the COVID-19 situation.

The event will be played at three venues — Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.