All eight franchises are currently awaiting the release of fixtures but due to different quarantine rules in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, IPL’s operations team took time to finalise the schedule. “The IPL schedule will be released on Sunday,” Patel told PTI. It is expected that defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and runner-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be pitted against each other in the first game of this edition on September 19. The upcoming 53-day season is by far the longest in the history of the league and the number of double headers will be reduced this year.