The defending champion Chennai Super Kings is set to face Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of IPL 2022 at Wankhede Stadium on March 26, according to a report in Indian Express.
The league stage of the tournament will take place in 4 stadiums across Mumbai and Pune. Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium will host 20 games each while the Brabourne Stadium (CCI) and Pune’s MCA International Stadium have been slotted for 15 games each. Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in Bandra-Kurla Complex and Dadoji Kondadev Stadium have been identified as grounds to be used for training facilities by the various teams.
IPL 2022 will kick off on March 26
Maharashtra Government assured full support to BCCI to organize the tournament. A separate corridor will be provided to the teams traveling across Mumbai and Pune.
“Maharashtra government is going to fully support BCCI to organize a successful IPL. The decision regarding allowing crowds will be decided by Chief Minister Hon’ble Uddhav Thackeray,” chairman of MCA’s governing council, Milind Narvekar told The Indian Express.
It’s learned that Maharashtra Government is likely to allow 25% crowd of the stadium capacity. The state government will also help in conducting RT-PCR tests and creating bio-bubble for the tournament. The whole idea to organize the tournament in Mumbai and Pune is to avoid air travel which was supposed to be the main reason for the Covid outbreak in the last season.
Each team will play two games against 5 teams and one game against 4 teams as the total number of matches will be 74 which includes the 4 playoffs. The venues of playoff matches haven’t been decided yet. The tournament will conclude on May 29.
The two new franchises Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have been included in the tournament for the first time. Before this season, IPL 2011 was the only season when the tournament was a 10-team affair.
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