New IPL 2020 timings most welcome as matches go up till 11.30 PM otherwise: Aakash Chopra

The IPL 2020 Governing Council meeting on Sunday disclosed several details about the latest edition of the Indian Premier League that will be held in the United Arab Emirates. The crucial meeting was held to finalize the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for the tournament which will be held overseas for just the third time in its history. Several changes were announced for IPL 2020, such as the provision to allow COVID-19 replacements in the competition.

The BCCI also confirmed that all the existing sponsors will be retained for IPL 2020, including Chinese sponsors. The Governing Council meeting also finalized the IPL dates and time schedule, which has now been welcomed by former cricketer Aakash Chopra.

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When will IPL start? 

The guidelines issued by the BCCI after the meeting on Sunday also finalized the IPL dates. The 13th edition of the tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates form September 19, with the IPL 2020 slated to take place for a record 53 days. The IPL 2020 final is scheduled for November 10. A new start time has also been revealed by the organizers. Matches will take place in two slots during the IPL 2020. The afternoon matches will begin at 3:30 PM IST, while the evening matches will start at 7:30 pm IST.

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Aakash Chopra supports the decision to start IPL 2020 matches early

The decision to start IPL 2020 games earlier as compared to previous editions of the competition has been welcomed by popular sports presenter Aakash Chopra. After the new IPL dates and timings were announced, Aakash Chopra tweeted that a 7:30 PM start for the evening games is simply brilliant. The former cricketer also called for the new timings to be made permanent.

Aakash Chopra took to his YouTube channel to talk about the change in match timings for the IPL 2020. Welcoming the change in timings, Aakash Chopra said that the decision to start the matches half an hour early is a good move. He also said that according to him, even when the tournament is being held in India, the matches should not be starting later than 7:30 PM as the matches end up going on till 11:30 or 11:45 PM when they started at 8 PM IST.

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In addition to expressing his views on the new IPL dates and match timings, Aakash Chopra was seen at his witty best while responding to a fan’s tweet on Twitter. After the BCCI guidelines answered the question of when will IPL start, a Twitter user referred to Aakash Chopra’s famous line while expressing his excitement for IPL 2020. Aakash Chopra was quick to reply to the fan’s tweet, admitted that his famous line about the audience becoming fielders and vice versa would not hold true for IPL 2020, as crowds aren’t allowed in the stadiums during the initial phases of the tournament.

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Image Courtesy: instagram/cricketaakash