Home Cricket IPL 2021 To Kick-off On April 9 With MI Vs RCB Clash

IPL 2021 To Kick-off On April 9 With MI Vs RCB Clash

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IPL 2021 To Kick-off On April 9 With MI Vs RCB Clash

On Sunday, the BCCI announced the schedule for the 2021 season of the IPL, with Mumbai Indians kick-starting the tournament against RCB in Chennai on April 9. The IPL is set to be played across six venues – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata – with the playoff in Ahmedabad.

The IPL Governing Council on Sunday announced the schedule for VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 to be held in India. After nearly two years, the IPL extravaganza will return home with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata hosting the marquee event. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will kick-start the season and they will clash with the Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 9 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

While the group stage of the competition is set to be played across five venues – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata – the play-off would be hosted in Ahmedabad in the newly inaugurated Narendra Modi Stadium.

“The season will kickstart on 9th April, 2021 in Chennai with a high octane clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The World’s Largest Cricket Stadium – Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the Playoffs as well as the final on 30th May, 2021 which promises to be a visual spectacle. The newly-built stadium that hosted India’s second Pink Ball fixture at home with great grandeur will host its first ever IPL,” stated the presser from IPL.

While revealing the venues, BCCI also clarified that the teams would be playing their matches at neutral venues, with none of the franchise playing at their home venue, which resembles the format the BCCI followed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where venues were neutral.

“Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host 8 matches each. One of the highlights of this edition of the VIVO IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at 4 out of 6 venues during the league stage,” it added.

However, the BCCI also added that a final update and word on allowing spectators to the games would be finalised at a later date, just before the tournament. In the initial stages of the tournament, it is expected that the games would be played behind closed doors.

“The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk. The VIVO IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament,” an official release from the BCCI read.