MUMBAI: The IPL governing council on Sunday announced the schedule for VIVO Indian Premier League 2021, to be held in India.
After nearly two years, the IPL extravaganza will return home with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata hosting the marquee event.
The season will kickstart on 9th April, with the final to be played on 30th May.
As far as the finals are concerned, as too the playoffs, that the real power centre of cricket has shifted from BCCI headquarter’s in Mumbai to Ahmedabad, commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat, is clear from the fact that the Motera Stadium, which is now named after him, will host all those games.
Meanwhile, the opening clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be played in Chennai.
Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host 8 matches each. One of the highlights of this edition of the IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at 4 out of 6 venues during the league stage.
There will be a total of 11 double headers where 6 teams will play three afternoon matches & two teams will play two afternoon matches. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 PM IST start while the evening games will have a 7:30 PM IST start.
After hosting the tournament safely and successfully in the UAE last year with all safety protocols in place, the BCCI is confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount.
The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk. The VIVO IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with (laudable decision), and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament.
The complete fixtures for VIVO IPL 2021 can be accessed by clicking here…
