The competition will take place in the United Arab Emirates between September 19 and November 10.

This isn’t the first time the IPL has been played in the UAE. The tournament’s first 20 fixtures in 2014 took place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah – the same three venues set to be used for this year’s tournament – while the Indian general election took place. This time, the tournament has been moved away from India owing to the ongoing spread of Covid-19 through the country. On July 31, there were 57,000 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the country, the highest recorded figure in India to date. Just 243 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UAE on July 31.

In a press release confirming the tournament dates, the IPL GC also announced that a women’s tournament, called the Women’s T20 Challenge, will take place during the play-off stages of the men’s tournament. The tournament will consist of three teams and four matches, as was the case last year.