Reports: IPL 2022 set to kick off from March 26

After an exciting IPL 2022 mega auction, it’s now time to get into business with the on-field action as the kick-off date for the 15th edition of the marquee tournament has officially been announced. It was earlier reported that the IPL 2022 would get underway on March 27. However, as per the latest reports,  it has now been learned that the tournament would get underway a day prior to the scheduled date.

According to Cricbuzz, this year’s Indian Premier League is scheduled to get underway from March 26 and the decision regarding the same was taken at a meeting of the IPL Governing Council (GC) on February 24. This year’s cash-rich event would be a 10-team affair with the addition of two new franchises- Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans respectively. At the same time, it has also been learned that the schedule for the competition would be officially announced soon.

The full schedule will come soon: IPL Chairman

“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,” said IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Furthermore, it has been reported that the showpiece event would completely be organized in India itself after an improvement in the COVID-19 cases. Even though it was rumoured that South Africa was one of the venues initially.  A total of 70 matches will be played in IPL 2022 including 55 in Mumbai and 15 in Pune across four venues- Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne, DY Patil, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) respectively.

In the last edition, there was no home advantage for any team as the franchises played group stage matches at neutral venues before the tournament was halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak in several camps and had to be indefinitely suspended after the first leg. The second leg was played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Chennai Super Kings are the defending champions and they would be eyeing a record-equaling fifth title this time around.