IPL 2021: CSK, MI depart to UAE ahead of second leg

Indian Premier League franchises Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have departed to the UAE, where the second half of the 14th edition is set to be played from September 19. The 2021 edition of the IPL was postponed on May 4 after cases of Covid-19 were reported inside the bio-secure environments of as many as four different franchises in two different cities.

Owing to the pandemic, the 14th edition was played in a cluster-caravan format, with the teams travelling to different cities upon the completion of one leg. While the initial leg of the tournament, played in Mumbai and Bengaluru did not report any mishaps, the invisible virus crept in threw everything in tatters as the teams shifted their bases to Ahmedabad and Delhi for the second leg.

The BCCI and the IPL governing council, in a unanimous decision to secure the security of all stakeholders, decided to indefinitely postpone the event midway through, which, after plenty of deliberation, is now set to resume in the UAE, and will be played across three different venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

CSK, MI to initiate IPL second leg

CSK and MI, the two teams that will kickstart the second leg proceedings, took to social media to reveal their journey to the UAE. MS Dhoni’s CSK shared a picture with their skipper leaving for the emirates, with a caption, “Get ready folks”. Five-time winners Mumbai Indians had earlier tweeted a picture where team’s talent scout Vinay Kumar can be seen onboard the flight to UAE, alongside off-spinner Jayant Yadav.

As per the new schedule, the Dubai International Stadium will host 13 of the remaining 31 games including the first qualifier and the final, while Sharjah will have 10 fixtures including the Eliminator and the second qualifier. The remaining fixtures will be played in Abu Dhabi.

The league phase of the tournament is supposed to run until October 8, with the first qualifier scheduled on October 10. The Eliminator, second qualifier and the final will be played on October 11, 13 and 15, respectively. Incidentally, the T20 World Cup 2021 starts only two days after the IPL final.

Off we go! ✈️🇦🇪
The countdown has begun 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/U74EFFl9FM

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) August 13, 2021

🄰🄱🅄 🄳🄷🄰🄱🄸 🄱🄾🅄🄽🄳 ✈️#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @Vinay_Kumar_R pic.twitter.com/oRetLrxZrt

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) August 13, 2021

✈️ Mode ON#UrsAnbudenEverywhere#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/yHE4c2Qk4X

— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) August 13, 2021

MAS ➡️ DXB 💛

Get 🥳 ready folks! #UrsAnbudenEverywhere#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁 pic.twitter.com/HmI569morL

— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) August 13, 2021