IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians hosts Chennai Super Kings in opener, final on May 24

Defending IPL champion Mumbai Indians will also play the final fixture of the league phase against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 17.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and his Chennai Super Kings counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni greet each other.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 29 with defending champion Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent out the final fixture to the franchises on Saturday, and made it clear that there won't be any Saturday double headers. Instead, another week of league phase has been added for the season.

The schedule -- a copy of which is with

Sportstar -- states that only six double headers have been scheduled only on Sundays, starting at 4pm and 8pm.

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The league phase will continue for 50 days and will end on May 17, after which the knockouts will begin. The schedule for knockouts is yet to be confirmed, but the final will be played on May 24.

While Rajasthan Royals is likely to play two games in Guwahati -- against Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals -- the other franchises have decided to stick to their original venues. However, with a PIL filed at the Rajasthan High Court, it's not clear whether RR will finally be able to shift two games out of Jaipur and play them in Guwahati. 

A final decision is expected in the next few weeks.