- Thursday, May 09, 2024
Arun Dhumal said the tournament will kick off on March 22.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the world’s most popular cricket tournament, will kick off on March 22 and will be held entirely in the country despite coinciding with the general elections, league chairman Arun Dhumal told news agency PTI on Tuesday (20).
The elections are expected to be held in April and May and it is speculated that the schedule of the T20 tournament has not been unveiled yet due to that.
Speaking to PTI, Dhumal said to begin with, only the schedule of the first 15 days of the tournament will be announced and the roster for the remaining games will be decided once the dates of the general election are announced.
Read: Etihad Airways now official sponsor of IPL’s Chennai Super Kings
The dates of the Lok Sabha polls are expected to be announced early next month.
“We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India,” said Dhumal.
Read: Players’ IPL 2024 show will be key for T20 World Cup selection: Moody
In 2009, the second edition of the IPL was entirely held in South Africa because of the general elections while in 2014, it was partially held in the UAE due to the polls. In 2019, the tournament was held in India despite the elections.
Considering the T20 World Cup begins within days of the cash-rich league’s conclusion, the final is likely to be held on May 26.
As is the norm, the IPL opener will be played between the last year’s finalists — between the winners Chennai Super Kings and runners-up Gujarat Titans.
The players’ auction for the 2024 season was held in December last year and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the league after being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore (£2.36 million).
(With PTI inputs)
