IPL 2020 schedule is not yet announced with less than three weeks away for the tournament. In what comes as good news for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 fans, all Chennai Super Kings players, who were not in quarantine, have tested negative for COVID-19.
CSK is now set to commence their practice session after completing their quarantine phase and will look forward to taking to the field in the lucrative T20 tournament.
As per a report, CSK has been unofficially informed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that they will play the season opener against Mumbai Indians on September 19 with the schedule officially expected to be released on Friday.
After the news of 13 members including two players in the CSK contingent broke out, the BCCI delayed the announcement of the IPL 2020 schedule. Speculation was rife that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) could play Mumbai Indians (MI) in the season opener of the 13th edition of IPL.
However, the board is happy with the latest round of results and how the virus hasn’t spread to other teammates. Now, they are planning to release the schedule with CSK vs MI as an opener.
“It’s not a problem at all. We will be happy to play game 1 if we are asked to,” a CSK source told.
However, CSK will be without Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad while Suresh Raina has opted out of IPL 2020. Even Harbhajan Singh is likely to pull out of the tournament. Without much training, it will be a massive challenge for CSK to hit the ground running when IPL starts.
IPL 2020 is scheduled to commence from September 19 in the UAE with the final slated to be held on November 10.
IPL 2020: Franchises Are In Need Of Warm-up Games
According to a report, the majority of the franchises want a warm-up game before the tournament opener on September 19.
“Having some competitive warm-up games will be good for the tournament,” a leading franchise executive has told.
Another franchise CEO has also expressed his “100 percent support to the idea of warm-ups.”
Two other franchisees have in-fact told that “warm-ups are the only way to get players back in the tournament mode right from day one” as they have not set foot on a cricket field for more than five months.
Also read: Lasith Malinga Withdraws From IPL 2020 Amid “Personal Reasons”
