The chairman of the league, Arun Dhumal, announced that only the schedule for the first 15 days of the tournament will be revealed initially.
The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off from March 22, as confirmed by league chairman Arun Dhumal. He also assured that the entire tournament will take place in India, even though it overlaps with general elections. As the elections are set to take place in April and May, the official schedule for the 17th edition of the IPL has not been released.
In an interview with PTI on Tuesday, Dhumal shared that initially only the schedule for the first 15 days of the tournament will be revealed, with the rest of the roster being determined after the announcement of the general election dates. An announcement regarding the dates for the Lok Sabha polls is anticipated to be made at the beginning of next month.
“We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India,” said Dhumal.
In 2009, the IPL tournament took place in South Africa, and in 2014, the first 20 games were held in the UAE because of the general elections in those years. However, in 2019, the entire event took place in India despite the elections.
In the past, the IPL seasons held in the UAE were in 2020 and 2021 (partially), as a result of Covid restrictions in India.
With the IPL 2024 season set to be followed by the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, it is expected that the league’s final will take place on May 26.
The ICC event is scheduled to commence on June 1. India, positioned in Group B, is set to kick off their campaign on June 5 against Ireland in New York.
As usual, the IPL opener will feature the previous year’s champions, Chennai Super Kings, and the runners-up, Gujarat Titans.
The auction for the 2024 season took place in December last year, with Australian pacer Mitchell Starc becoming the most expensive player in the league’s history as he was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹24.75 crore.
Source – Hindustan Times