Photo: ICC

It's official! The VIVO Indian Premier League will take place in 2020 and for the third time in its history, it is set to be hosted outside of India. The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has locked in on the United Arab as the venue for Season 13 of the IPL.

The tournament is set to begin on September 19, with the final scheduled to be played on November 10, subject to clearance from the Indian government. The totality of this season's VIVO Indian Premier League is set to be played in the UAE.

With the Men’s T20 World Cup being postponed to 2021 by the International Cricket Council (ICC), there is now scope for the IPL to be played this year in the period between September and November.

And that is the time period being selected for Season 13 of the Indian Premier League.

"We have written to the government seeking permission to host the tournament in UAE," IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed to the media. "The schedules have not been finalised as yet and will be decided at the (next) IPL GC, which will be held in the next seven or ten days."

Boards of several countries including Sri Lanka and New Zealand offered to take up hosting responsibilities for the IPL, but it seems as though the BCCI have opted to go with the UAE, which hosted a few games of the 2014 edition of the competition and has the adequate facilities to pull off a tournament of such a grand scale.

The 13th season of the IPL was initially set to begin in March as per usual, but got pushed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now with the restrictions relaxed in many parts of the world, the IPL has been given the green light.

How excited are y'all for Season 13 of the IPL, Sadde Fans?