With the coronavirus pandemic causing quite a bit of mayhem in India and all across the globe, the venue and the schedule for the upcoming edition of the IPL was a bit of a concern for the BCCI.
However, the BCCI are now eyeing a 27 March start for the IPL in 2022, according to Cricbuzz. The BCCI are also hoping to hold the tournament in Maharashtra with the first game likely to be played in Mumbai.
Other than Mumbai, the BCCI have Pune on the radar in the state, Cricbuzz had reported, which would then allow them access to four grounds in close proximity. However, there is no confirmation yet about Pune.
The 15th edition of the IPL is expected to see 74 games being played through the course of the tournament.
If indeed the tournament starts on 27 March, it will be just days after the home series against Sri Lanka finishes on 18.
"I am delighted to confirm that the 15th season of the IPL will start in the last week of March and will run until May end. A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India. The BCCI was always keen on staging the 2022 edition that will see two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – in India. I can tell you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that IPL stays in India. The BCCI has not compromised on the health and safety of its stakeholders in the past and will concurrently work on Plan B since the COVID-19 situation with new variants remains fluid. The mega IPL Auction will take place on February 12-13th and we will lock in venues before that," BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said on Saturday.
The BCCI and related stakeholders, including IPL team owners met on 22 January to chalk out the way forward for the season.
Mumbai itself allows the BCCI three venues with the Wankhede Stadium, the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and the DY Patil Stadium, while in Pune there is the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium as well.
The meeting was attended by the Ambanis, former BCCI President N Srinivasan, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Parth Jindal among others, besides the promoters of the two new teams - Ahmedabad and Lucknow, the report stated. The teams were informed that the tournament is set to start in the last week of March and finish by the last week of May.
The venue was the major discussion in the meeting with options such as UAE and South Africa also spoken about along with Mumbai and Pune. However, the report further stated, that the dew factor is the reason why UAE was ruled out. UAE had hosted the IPL in 2020 and the second half of the 2021 season along with the 2021 T20 World Cup.
While team owners are reported to have preferred the Mumbai option, some within the BCCI also backed South Africa. However, what reportedly tipped the scales in favour of Mumbai was the lack of air travel involved. It was also pointed out that there are sufficient hotels to accommodate the IPL bandwagon. Meanwhile a decision on whether crowds should be allowed too has been left for a later date.
South Africa had hosted the IPL in 2009.
A final decision on the matter though will be taken on 20 February on the basis of the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the IPL Auction, slated for 12 and 13 February.
Notably, a majority of the IPL franchise officials and owners, barring the three teams from down South -- Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore -- are based in Mumbai and by shifting the auction venue, the travel of a lot of people can be avoided. So, there was a thought on shifting the auction venue to Mumbai. However, now it is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru.
IPL 2022 will see the addition of two new franchises with teams from Ahmedabad and Lucknow joining the mix.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 season there will also be a mega auction which is slated for 12 and 13 February in Bengaluru. A total of 1,214 players are in the mix with the IPL announcing the initial list, which will be further trimmed ahead of the auction.
The two new teams have also made their initial picks with Ahmedabad roping in Hardik Pandya as captain along with Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, Lucknow have signed on KL Rahul as the captain along side the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi. Both Rahul and Bishnoi were part of the Punjab Kings franchise last year.
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