The latest edition of the Indian Premier League will kick-off on September 19, 2020, in the United Arab Emirates with a clash between record champions Mumbai Indians and last year’s beaten finalists Chennai Super Kings. IPL 2020 was initially scheduled to be held in March 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus. However, with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the cash-rich league was given a go-ahead to be played in the UAE. IPL Winners List: A Look at All the Previous Champions of Indian Premier League Ahead of 2020 Edition.

This will be the third time that the competition will be held outside India. The second-ever edition was played in South Africa while a part of the 2014 season was played in the UAE. However, this time the tournament will be played in its entirety in the gulf country. Amid the current circumstances, stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah will be hosting all the games behind closed doors to maintain social distancing protocols. So before IPL 2020 begins in UAE, we take a look at all the winners when IPL was played outside India. IPL 2020 Host is UAE: List of Countries Who Have Hosted Indian Premier League Editions Over The Years.

IPL 2009 (South Africa): Deccan Chargers

This was the first time that the competition was played outside India. South Africa hosted the league’s second-ever edition as it coincided with the multi-phase 2009 Indian General Elections. The final was played between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The Chargers won the game by six runs as RCB were unable to chase down a score of 143.

IPL 2014 (UAE): Kolkata kNight Riders

This was the second time that the competition was hosted outside India as it once again coincided with the General Elections if that year. However, this time only part of the tournament was played outside India as the franchises played the opening 20 games in the gulf country before returning to India. The final was played between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. KKR won the game by three wickets as they chased a target of 200 runs.

Indian Premier League will once again head to UAE, however, this time it will be under different completely circumstances. There will be no fans inside the stadiums, players are forced to stay inside bio-secure bubbles and several other regulations have been placed. The league starts on September 19 and final will be played on November 10, 2020.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2020 04:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).