The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will indeed go ahead this year but will instead be held in the UAE and will commence in September.

Earlier this week the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Australia at the end of the year, has been postponed until 2021.

READ: T20 World Cup officially postponed

This subsequently opened the window for the two-month long IPL competition to take place with the Indian government set to provide their final approval in due time.

India has suffered severely under the Covid-19 pandemic with large parts of the country still under strict lockdown measures, which could continue until next year.

The UAE on the other hand have much more relaxed regulations in place, having overcome the surge and spread of the virus fairly quickly and without large-scale infections.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will be the three cities that will play host to all the IPL matches with players from abroad expected to have fairly easy access into the country, should they test negative upon arrival.

A sort of bio-secure bubble will be created for players and teams to move in but no quarantine period will be needed if a player tests negative after entering the country.

The competition is set to get under way on 19 September with the final expected to be held on 8 November.