The IPL governing council is thinking of postponing the date of the tournament’s final from November 8 to November 10. This will allow its stakeholders, especially its broadcaster Star India, to make further use of the Diwali week.
The governing council will make the final decision when it meets in the next three days.
The Indian team had to fly to Australia immediately after the IPL. If the governing council confirms the two-day delay, the Indian team will travel directly from the UAE, instead of returning to India first.
The members of the IPL governing council will meet via teleconference. They will be discussing the extension the finale by two more days. This will increase the 51-day window to expand to 54-days.
The broadcaster Star had expressed reservations about the ‘constricted scheduling’. It wanted to make optimum use of the Diwali week.
“Even if the players are left without any IPL matches, they will continue to remain in UAE and participate in a camp there. As soon as the IPL is over, the remaining players – busy playing the final knockout matches of the league – will join the rest and the entire team will fly together from there,” say officials who are tracking developments.
If the governing council confirms this, the league will not have the IPL final on a Sunday. November 10 is a Tuesday for the first time.