Mumbai Indians on Friday left for IPL 2021 which resumes in September in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and chose to share their departure on Twitter in which Vinay Kumar can be seen travelling on the flight to UAE.
The Mumbai Indians unit, which had been training for the last two weeks after undergoing quarantine, have been tested for COVID-19 before taking off for UAE, where the team has booked rooms in the same hotel as last year.
Speculations are high ever since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in May that the remaining part of the 14th edition of IPL will be held in UAE . The first match will be played on September 19, while the final match of IPL has been scheduled for October 15. That's also the day when Indian will be celebrating Dussehra, a national holiday in the country.
The BCCI official in question, privy to the inside developments, informed ANI that the initial round of discussions between BCCI and Emirates Cricket Board went well and to the satisfaction of both parties.
"The discussions went really well and with ECB giving us the oral nod to host the event ahead of the BCCI SGM, it was about closing the deal over the last week. 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 window to finish the remaining matches," the official was quoted as saying.
Replacing foreign players
Even though the dates and venues might be nearing confirmation, there are still plenty of gaps that need be filled before the matches can be resumed. The availability of foreign players being one major hurdle. When asked about the same, the official said they had their fingers crossed and were hopeful of positive outcomes. It's only if a couple of significant names can't turn that the future course of action will be decided accordingly.
Picking up replacements for major foreign players would be difficult, but the official said that BCCI is in touch with foreign boards. The BCCI though hasn't yet officially announced anything on its official Twitter handle.
When Covid brought down a premier league
On May 4, IPL 2021 was postponed indefinitely and with immediate effect given the country's unprecedented rise in Covid cases. At the time, BCCI and IPL governing council itself came under immense criticism for holding the matches in the first place. The suspension was also in the offing after Covid-19 breached two franchise bio-bubbles.
SRH's Wriddhiman Saha tested positive and after the news became public, it became necessary to quarantine the entire Sunrisers Hyderabad.
IPL 2021 Full Schedule
Here's the complete Indian Premier League 2021 second half match schedule, venue, date and timings.
IPL 2021 FULL SCHEDULE
Match No/ Teams /Match Date /Time /Venue
30 Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings 19 September, Sunday 7:30PM Dubai
31 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 20 September, Monday 7:30PM Abu Dhabi
32 Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals 21 September, Tuesday 7:30PM Dubai
33 Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 22 September, Wednesday 7:30PM Dubai
34 Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders 23 September, Thursday 7:30PM Abu Dhabi
35 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings 24 September, Friday 7:30PM Sharjah
36 Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals 25 September, Saturday 3:30PM Abu Dhabi
37 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings 25 September, Saturday 7:30PM Sharjah
38 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders 26 September, Sunday 3:30PM Abu Dhabi
39 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians 26 September, Sunday 7:30PM Dubai
40 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals 27 September, Monday 7:30PM Dubai
41 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals 28 September, Tuesday 3:30PM Sharjah
42 Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings 28 September, Tuesday 7:30PM Abu Dhabi
43 Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 29 September, Wednesday 7:30PM Dubai
44 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings 30 September, Thursday 7:30PM Sharjah
45 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings 1 October, Friday 7:30PM Dubai
46 Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals 2 October, Saturday 3:30PM Sharjah
47 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings 2 October, Saturday 7:30PM Abu Dhabi
48 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings 3 October, Sunday 3:30PM Sharjah
49 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 3 October, Sunday 7:30PM Dubai
50 Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings 4 October, Monday 7:30PM Dubai
51 Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians 5 October, Tuesday 7:30PM Sharjah
52 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 6 Oct, Wednesday 7:30PM Abu Dhabi
53 Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings 7 October, Thursday 3:30PM Dubai
54 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals 7 October, Thursday 7:30PM Sharjah
55 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians 8 October, Friday 3:30PM Abu Dhabi
56 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals 8 October, Friday 7:30PM Dubai
57 Qualifier 1 10 October, Sunday 7:30PM Dubai
58 Eliminator 11 October, Monday 7:30PM Sharjah
59 Qualifier 2 13 October, Wednesday 7:30PM Sharjah
60 Final 15 October, Friday 7:30PM Dubai.
