The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League is just a few days away from kick off on September 19. The 13th season of the cash rich league has been shifted out of India due to the coronavirus pandemic and will be held in the UAE.
Here’s a round-up of the latest news from IPL 2020:
BCCI President Ganguly visits Sharjah cricket stadium
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Monday visited the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to review the preparations for the IPL. Sharjah is one of three venues, along with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that will host matches for IPL 2020.
Accompanying Ganguly were former IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla as well as a few other dignitaries.
The BCCI President shared pictures from his visit to the stadium on Instagram, posting, "Famous Sharjah stadium all set to host IPL 2020".
Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host 12 league-stage matches, starting with Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings on September 22.
The opening match of the IPL 2020 will be played in Abu Dhabi between defending champions Mumbai Indians and last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings.
Priety Zinta tests COVID-negative in Dubai
Co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, actress Preity Zinta, has tested negative for COVID-19 for the third time. Zinta, who flew to Dubai last week for the IPL, is completing her quarantine period at a hotel in Dubai.
She has been sharing regular updates of her quarantine as well as COVID-19 tests. Zinta posted a video of a healthcare worker performing the test on her, writing, "3rd COVID test was done and the result was negative. I'm so happy and relieved and grateful to this wonderful lady for being gentle while testing cause it's quite an experience getting a COVID test. Now two more tests to go and 2 more days in quarantine. I've been so jet lagged that I got my quarantine days wrong. It's day 5 of quarantine today."
Kings XI Punjab begin their IPL 2020 campaign on September 20 with a match against the Delhi Capitals in Dubai
Team Uthappa vs Team Samson in Rajasthan Royals intra-squad match
All eight IPL teams are racing to be match-fit with the IPL just days away and the Rajasthan Royals are no different. The team organised an intra-squad warm-up match to try to get into the groove of playing competitive cricket at a recent practice session.
The two teams were led by Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson and the match turned into a nailbiter with Team Uthappa winning by a close margin of 2 runs.
Rajasthan finished the IPL 2019 season in seventh place and will be looking for a change of fortune this year and aiming to win their second title after winning the inaugural season of the league in 2008.
They begin their campaign on September 22 against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah.