The schedule for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League was announced on Sunday, with the T20 league set to be played in India again from next month. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have been announced as host cities by the IPL Governing Council.
The season will kickstart on April 9 in Chennai with a clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the Playoffs as well as the final on May 30.
The tournament 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.
Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight matches each.
All matches will be played at neutral venues and teams will play at four out of six venues during the league stage.
There will be a total of 11 doubleheaders where ix teams will play three afternoon matches and two teams will play two afternoon matches. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 PM start while the evening games will have a 7:30 PM.
After hosting the tournament in the UAE last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the BCCI said they are confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety protocols in place. 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.
You can check the full schedule here
