IPL 2021 commences in the second week of April. Ranji Trophy was canceled for the first time in 87 years.
After the successful hosting of the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, which took place after March 2020 amidst the COVID-19 scare. BCCI is heading to the path of hosting more domestic tournaments. It will include the Vijay Hazare tournament, and a one-day for women in February and March; followed by IPL 2021 in April.
The new season of the Indian Premier League is reportedly going to take place in India and not the UAE. The UAE served as the host last year and was always a back-up venue for this season as well. India had first delayed the IPL by six months due to the global pandemic situation. After that BCCI shifted to the UAE for the same reason.
BCCI Decides Upon Venues For IPL 2021
The BCCI has finalized five venues for hosting 60 games of the 2021-Indian Premier League across the city of Mumbai and in Pune.
The 14th edition of IPL will be seen at our homeland. BCCI has earmarked Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium, Reliance Cricket Stadium DY Patil Stadium, in Navi Mumbai, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) in Pune. It is also suggested that the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera could also be used as the venue for the ‘knockouts’ of the league, like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, at the back end of the month of May.
BCCI Treasurer on Saturday commented on the vaccination programs that the board is working on collaboratively with the government. They are confident that IPL 2021 will indeed take place in India.
Arun Singh Dhumal had said; “We are working on having the IPL in India and we are hopeful that we would be able to organize it and are not even thinking of a back-up also at this point in time. We are wanting to do it here. India is probably safer than UAE at this point. Hopefully, the situation remains stable and keeps improving and we will have it here.”
Tentative Dates For The Tournament To Begin
The India Premier League will take place after the scheduled Vijay Hazare Trophy and Senior women’s one-day tournament. The Ranji Trophy remains canceled for this season for the first time in 87 years, due to logistical hassles.
“Technically, this marks the beginning of Cricket in India at all levels, domestic and international. The board should be commended for taking a very sensible decision on not hosting the Ranjit this season,” members say.
The Sourav Ganguly-led board conducted a smooth and memorable IPL 13 and now they plan to host the IPL 2021 edition in India, amid the virus scare.”The final decision will be taken by IPL GC but 11th April is the tentative date to start IPL 2021. The series against England finishes in March and players will get a good break with the 11th April start for IPL 14th’, said the BCCI official.
The tournament is fetching a tentative conclusion in the first week of June, around June 6. The final two Tests between India and England and the entire five-match T20I series prior to IPL 2021; will be hosted in the revamped Motera Stadium.
New Franchises to Be Introduced
On the commencement of the 14th edition of IPL, BCCI will also conduct the auction to introduce one new franchise to the IPL. However, according to sources, it had necessary approvals from the general body to introduce two new franchises. The decision to introduce only one franchise has been stemmed from a well-rounded perspective to earn better value for the sale of the 10th team in the future.
The Industry Executive says, “The Board is making the Right Move.” The entire purpose is to bag more money from such auctions, BCCI will earn more by auctioning one team instead of two. One team will mean 76 matches while two teams will get 74 matches. In addition to that, all teams will play two more matches and get more revenue.
According to reports, the ninth team will be available to play only from the 2022 edition. The board will conduct the mini-auction for the upcoming IPL season for the existing eight franchises on February 18 in Chennai.
