IPL 2022: BCCI Contemplating starting tournament on March 27, Maharashtra to Reportedly host all Games

The BCCI is contemplating starting the IPL 2022 from March 27, with most of the games taking place in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

IPL Trophy: (Image Credits: Twitter)
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Jan 22, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The BCCI is contemplating starting IPL 2022 from March 27. According to a report in Cricbuzz, a meeting was conducted in which all the owners attended along with promoters of the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchise. The BCCI discussed the starting date and end date as well as the venue for the whole tournament. The final decision, though, will be taken on February 20. Maharashtra has the most cases of coronavirus. The omicron variant is high in the state. Thus, BCCI will monitor the progress and update the sides accordingly. This will be almost a week after the end of the IPL 2022 mega-auction that will take place in Bangalore.

IPL 2022 will involve 10 teams, with Ahmedabad and Lucknow the new editions. Thus, the start date of March 27 seems ideal. The tournament will potentially end on the final week of May. But, it is the venue that will be greatly considered.

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BCCI to host IPL 2022 entirely in Maharashtra?

The IPL 2021 was plagued by the coronavirus pandemic in India. In the second wave, almost 400,000 cases were being reported everyday. Death rates were peaking in Mumbai and Delhi. The task of maintaining bio-bubbles in six cities proved to be too much for the BCCI. The reason why they want to ensure the tournament happens in India is many. The owners are not too happy with the choice of UAE in March and May, with rising temperatures and dew giving an advantage to teams batting second.

South Africa was also ruled out due to logistical issues. Thus, the BCCI is thinking about zeroing in on Mumbai and Pune. Holding the IPL 2022 entirely in Maharashtra makes more sense. There are four grounds in Mumbai. Apart from the Wankhede stadium, there is the Brabourne Stadium, DY Patil stadium as well as the BKC Reliance Ground. All are in the vicinity, with the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Apart from Mumbai, teams can also travel to Pune which is a couple of hours away by road. The MCA stadium has hosted IPL games in the past and it might be able to do so in 2022. The other major factor seems to be that Mumbai and Pune are equipped with plenty of hotels that can cater to the teams. Thus, maintaining one or potentially two bio-bubbles is much easier than maintaining eight.

Last year, there were breaches in the Ahmedabad and Delhi bio-bubbles that saw the IPL 2021 being shifted to the UAE. Chennai Super Kings won the title for the fourth time, beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final by 27 runs. Heading into IPL 2022, Chennai Super Kings would be gunning to win it for the fifth time and draw level with Mumbai Indians.





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