Dubai: The IPL starts without any customary glitz and glamour on Saturday, there will be no gala ceremony for the world’s richest T20 league. The games will be played behind the closed doors at three venues including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

All the eight teams have been in strict, bio-secure ‘bubbles’ since landing in the UAE, with the competition set to kick off when defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on September 19. Yet president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Sourav Ganguly, expects a surge in viewership for the 13th edition with the matches scheduled for India’s evening primetime TV slots.

Ganguly said that “Broadcasters are actually expecting the highest rating of IPL this season because they believe if (people) don’t turn up in the ground, they will be actually watching on their television sets”. “There is a positive in everything.” Ganguly said crowds could even return to the stands later in the 53-day tournament, which ends on November 10. “Because of the Covid and infection, you don’t want people to be too close to each other, but very soon you will see there will be 30 percent people in the ground with social distancing,” BCCI President.