Cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir believes that the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be 'bigger than the rest' on account of it being held amid the prevailing scenario brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic around the globe. Gambhir added that the upcoming IPL will "change the mood of the nation."

"Doesn't matter where it goes but obviously it goes to UAE, it's a great venue to play any format and plus most importantly it is going to change the mood of the nation," said the former India opener on Star Sports' show, 'Cricket Connected'.

The 13th season of the IPL which was indefinitely suspended by the BCCI due to ever detoritating COVID-19 situation, will finally be staged in the United Arab Emirates from September 19 to November.This development which comes as a major relief to millions of cricket fans across the world was confirmed earlier this week by the league's chairman Brijesh Patel.

"It's not about which franchise win, which player score runs, which guy takes wicket, it's just changing the mood of the nation. So, this IPL probably will be bigger than rest of the IPL because I think this if for the nation."

On the same show, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan had also said that it was a "wonderful experience" for him to compete in the IPL held in the UAE in 2014, and expects a similar tournament this time around.

He further said that the league is one of the "best in the world" and expressed delight at its comeback.

"We were waiting for IPL for four months, 4 months is a long time but we all were waiting for IPL. Nothing better than this news because so many things depend on that, lot of careers depend on that and lot of financial support depends on IPL and so all the cricketers are waiting. But most importantly the kind of cricket we are going to see, the kind of competition. Nothing gets better than this wonderful league which is one of the best in the world," said Pathan.