The Indian Premier League 2022 will begin on March 26, and will run until May 29. The schedule was drawn up on Thursday, February 24, by the Indian Premier League Governing Council, who also decided that the league phase of the upcoming edition would only be restricted to two cities: Mumbai and Pune.
The 10-team Indian Premier League will start in Mumbai on March 26 and end on May 29 with around 40 percent crowd being allowed at the start of the tournament.
The decision regarding the timeline of the Indian Premier League 2022 was taken at a meeting of the Indian Premier League Governing Council (GC) on the evening of Thursday, February 24.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has acceded to the demands of Star, the host broadcaster of the tournament, which had asked to begin the upcoming edition on Saturday.
However, the league phase of the Indian Premier League 2022, comprising 70 matches, would be restricted to only two cities: Mumbai and Pune across four different venues. These are the Wanked Stadium and Broxbourne Stadium in Mumbai, the DY Patel Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gauche. 20 matches each will be played at the Wanked and at DY Patel Stadium, while 15 each at Broxbourne Stadium and at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) ground in Gauche.
With new two teams, Lucknow Supergiants and Gujarat Titans, added to the roster, there will be 74 matches that will be played.
Patel, Indian Premier League chairman, has also revealed that there will be crowds inside the stadiums, unlike the UAE leg of the last season. “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,” Patel told Cricbuzz. Dayan's name as captain was also doing the rounds, but the management was keen on Agarwal as the leader even before the auction. Agarwal, who is part of the Indian Test team, was one of the two players retained by Punjab Kings beside young pacer Arshdeep Singh ahead of the mega auction prematurely this month.
Dayan is a welcome addition to the side and was always on the radar at the auction. He is a champion player, but it seems Punjab were keen on Mayan as captain ever since K L Rahul left the team, the source added. Agarwal and Rahul formed one of the most prolific opening pairs in the Indian Premier League over the past couple of years. This season, Rahul will lead the new team, Lucknow Super Giants.
Agarwal had captained the team briefly last year when Rahul was injured. Agarwal aggregated 400-plus runs in the past two periods. He had made his Indian Premier League debut in 2011 and has so far played 100 games.
40 percent of the spectators will be allowed as per guidelines set by the Maharashtra government and to start with, If the COVID situation remains under control and cases decline, it might be full house at the business end, a source said.
There has been no decision with regard to play-offs, but Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium is likely to host the final.
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