New Delhi: IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said this year’s tournament would start in Mumbai on March 26 and end on May 29.
With two new teams — Lucknow Supergiants and Gujarat Titans — added to the league, there would be a total of 74 matches, PTI quoted Patel as saying.
Around 40 per cent crowd will be allowed in the stadiums at the start of the tournament.
“Spectors will be allowed as per guidelines set by the Maharashtra government and to start with, it will be 40 per cent. If the Covid situation remains under control and cases decline, it might be full house at the business end,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
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“The IPL will start on Saturday, March 26,” IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said after the governing council meeting on Thursday.
The matches will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium along with Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil ground and Gahunje Stadium in Pune.
As many as 20 games each will be held at Wankhede and DY Patil, while 15 each will be hosted at Brabourne and Gahunje Stadium.
“Each team will play the same number of games at each of the stadiums. Mumbai Indians will play four games at Wankhede Stadium. We are having as many as 12 double headers and it was decided that Saturday start (march 26) allows us to host a double header on Sunday,” the source further said.
There has been no decision with regards to play-offs but Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium is likely to host the final.
Over the years, Mumbai Indians (5), Chennai Super Kings (4) and Kolkata Knight Riders (2) have won the maximum IPL titles.
A total of 204 players were picked by the 10 franchise after shelling out a total of Rs 551.70 crore during the IPL 2022 mega auction. Ishan Kishan (Rs 15.25 cr), Deepak Chahar (Rs 14 cr) and Shreyas Iyer (Rs 12.25 cr) emerged as the top-three earners.
(With PTI inputs)
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