The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to start on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. The IPL season is being played outside India in concern to rising coronavirus cases in the country. The decision to conduct the tournament outside India was taken by the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) and was approved by the Indian government.

According to the scheduled published by the IPL committee, the first match of the tournament will be a rerun of the final of IPL 12, where defending champions Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma will be up against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

With the tournament being held in the UAE, it will be only the second time that a complete IPL tournament will be held outside India. The previous time an entire IPL season was conducted outside of India was- IPL 2, which was held in South Africa in 2009.

Here are the previous few  instances when the Indian Premier League was held outside India:

The second edition of the Indian Premier League was conducted in South Africa in 2009. The decision to shift the Indian Premier League was taken as it coincided with the General Elections. Also, the Indian government was unwilling to risk the safety of the players amid the elections. Hence, the tournament had to be shifted to South Africa where it was conducted amidst a lot of fanfare. The tournament was held between April 18, 2009, and 24 May 2009. The IPL approximately injected around $100 million into the South African economy according to a Sydney Morning Herald Report. The matches were broadcast to the Indian audience from South Africa. All eight teams participated in the tournament and it was won by Deccan Chargers. Royal Challengers Bangalore finished Runners- Up of the tournament and the two semi-finalists were Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings. Matthew Hayden of CSK emerged as the top-run getter of the tournament and RP Singh of the Deccan Chargers was adjudged the leading wicket-taker.

The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in 2014 was partly conducted outside India. The opening ceremony took place in the UAE on April 15, 2014. The tournament was conducted between April 16 and June 1. 

The first twenty matches of the tournament had to be conducted in the UAE, as 2014 was the year of General Elections, and the then Home Minister of India was unwilling to provide ample security for the tournament.

After the first twenty matches, the tournament returned to India on May 2, 2014.

Kolkata Knight Riders emerged as winners of the tournament, defeating King XI Punjab by three-wicket. This was the Kolkata franchises’ second IPL victory, while Chennai Super Kings clinched the third spot and Mumbai Indians were ranked fourth. KKR batsman Robin Uthappa emerged as the top-scorer of the tournament scoring 660 runs in 16 innings. Mohit Sharma of Chennai Super Kings emerged as the top wicket-taker of the tournament.