IPL 2019: No change in night match timing

There was speculation that the BCCI was under pressure to change the timings of the night matches to 7 pm when most teams wanted the Board to stick to the 8 pm slot.

All the night league games of the Indian Premier League beginning on March 23 will start at the usual prime time slot of 8 pm, CoA chief Vinod Rai said on Thursday.

The afternoon matches will start at 4 pm.

"Matches will begin at 8 pm," said Rai after the COA meeting in New Delhi.

There was speculation that the BCCI was under pressure to change the timings of the night matches to 7 pm when most teams wanted the Board to stick to the 8 pm slot.

Even last year, there was speculation that the matches would have a 7 pm start but it was not to be. However, the play-offs including the final began at 7 pm.

"We welcome BCCI's decision to retain the match timings. Like last year, we wanted the games to have an 8 pm start. This time, we were not yet approached by the BCCI regarding match timings but we were eagerly awaiting its decision," a team official told PTI.

Last month, the BCCI announced the schedule for the first two weeks of the IPL while the full schedule will be announced after dates of general elections are made public.

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener on March 23 in Chennai.