The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 will kick off on March 26. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has acceded to the demands of Star, the host broadcaster which had asked for a Saturday start, as first reported by Cricbuzz.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the IPL Governing Council (GC) on Thursday (February 24) evening.At a busy meeting, held virtually, the GC has also confirmed another Cricbuzz report that the IPL will be staged in Maharashtra, with 55 games in Mumbai and 15 in Pune. Four stadiums have been identified for the league, with the break-up of the games being 20 at the Wankhede, 15 at Brabourne Stadium, 20 more at DY Patil Stadium and finally 15 at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) ground in Gahunje.IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has confirmed the news and revealed that the tournament will not be played out in front of empty stands like the last few editions, barring the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
“The IPL will kick off on March 26, the full schedule will come soon. We will also have crowds but as per the policy of the Maharashtra government. Whether it will be 25 or 50 per cent of the stadium capacity will be decided by the government instruction,” the IPL chairman told Cricbuzz.The tournament is set to wrap up on Sunday, May 29. The venues for the playoffs are yet to be decided but there have been talks of holding them in Ahmedabad. When asked about it, Patel said, “We will decide about the play-offs later.”This is the first time the BCCI have categorically stated that the league will not go overseas. There have been plans to explore overseas venues, like South Africa and Sri Lanka, but the improved Covid situation in the country has encouraged the BCCI to hold the 10-team league in India itself. The exact number of days and full schedule, as Patel said, will be released soon.The BCCI has also identified four grounds for practice, something that the organisers have been brooding over for some time. The teams will be allotted times for practice at the BKC ground in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai, DY Patil ground in Navi Mumbai and either MCA Ground in Kandivali or in Thane.There have also been decisions with regard to Women’s IPL, which the BCCI is contemplating starting next year. Cricbuzz understands that the Women’s games will be held this year like before (a la Women’s T20 Challenge).The GC has also been informed, Cricbuzz learns, that for the first time, the IPL has been able to fill up all six sponsor slots – one title sponsor and five associate sponsors. Every year otherwise, there would remain a few vacant slots.
