Aakash Chopra welcomes new start time for IPL’s evening matches

Aakash Chopra welcomes new start time for IPL’s evening matches

Aakash Chopra

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra on Monday welcomed the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council’s decision to begin the evening matches half-an-hour earlier than usual.

The IPL governing council on Sunday decided that the evening matches would start at 7.30 PM instead of 8 PM.

Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel

“The IPL matches starting at 7.30 in the evening is a good move. The matches should not be starting later than 7.30 even in India as well in my opinion, the matches that start at 8 usually end up going till 11.30 or 11.45,” Chopra said in a video posted on his channel.

The IPL 2020 will run for 53 days, September 19 – November 10 in the UAE.

“Taking note of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India, the IPL GC decided to stage the tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India,” read a BCCI release.

Also read: Comparison between 2011 and 2019 World Cup teams by Aakash Chopra

This time, both the afternoon and evening matches will be played half an hour earlier than usual.

“IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 and the final will be played on November 10, 2020. The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15.30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19.30 IST,” the BCCI release added.

The BCCI also confirmed that “Women’s T20 Challenge will also take place in the UAE and will comprise three teams with four matches to be played during the IPL Playoff week.”

The Governing Council also evaluated the player regulations for a replacement player for the 2020 season. A meeting with the franchises will be called shortly for discussing the same.

Also read: “Very much on” – BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Women’s IPL