While the venue has been fixed for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League which is less than a month away, the official schedule of the matches is yet to be announced by the BCCI.

It was recently reported that all the players have reached the United Arab Emirates and preparations are underway for the tournament that is starting on September 19 even as the Indian players are in quarantine. However, players from England and Australia, who will be playing a bilateral series until September 17, will reach the UAE the next day. Based on the protocols implemented by the BCCI, the players will remain quarantined for seven days, after which they would have to test negative for COVID-19 three times in order to take part in the matches. Hence, nearly 19 players from the two countries are not expected to be part of the premiere league in its first week. "The first week of the IPL could possibly see the English and Australian players missing, because post the conclusion of the white-ball series in England, the players will land in the UAE only around September 17 or 18 following which a week's quarantine will come into effect. So there is a possibility that matches in those first three or four days can be allotted to teams not majorly dependent on players flying over from the UK," a source close to the BCCI stated, according to a report by a news agency.

"If that happens, can that team play on those six days? Possibly not. But the tournament will go on, so it's necessary to work on the possibility of keeping a schedule flexible enough where matches can be brought forward and delayed, as and when necessary," the report further added, quoting the source. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has confirmed that the schedule of the tournament will be released by the end of this week. "We know it is getting delayed but teams are taking stock of everything including recee of the venues. Stay assured schedules will be released before the end of this week," the chairman reportedly stated.