On Wednesday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly left for Dubai where he will be overseeing preparations for a bio-secure Indian Premier League (IPL) which is scheduled to commence on September 19. For the tournament opener, the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will be locking horns with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The IPL 2020 had to move to the UAE due to the increasing cases of COVID-19 in India.

Captioning a couple of pictures on his Instagram handle, Ganguly wrote: “My first flight in 6 months to Dubai for IPL…crazy life changes.” In the pictures, Sourav Ganguly can be seen wearing a mask and face shield, part of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) while flying amid the pandemic. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE5nDhGgtWo/

The BCCI was able to create a window for the IPL only when the ICC decided to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled to be taking place later this year in the October-November window. 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. 

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IPL chairman Brijesh Patel is among the other key officials who are already in Dubai. The tournament, despite following all the strict health safety measures, has already endured instances of some members from the contingent testing positive for the dreaded virus. 

The three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been the worst affected with 13 of its members, including two players, in quarantine after testing positive. 

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Fans will not be allowed to visit the venue when the cash-rich league will be commencing 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.