The decision to organise the tournament in one state was taken during BCCI’s IPL governing council virtual meet on Thursday evening.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 26 and will be played in Mumbai and Pune. According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), 55 matches will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai while Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium will be the venue for the remaining 15 games.
The decision to organise the tournament in one state was taken during BCCI’s IPL governing council virtual meet on Thursday evening. The members earlier contemplated organising IPL matches at respective home venues, but taking cue from last year when BCCI felt that travelling enabled breach of secure bio-bubble, the board doesn’t want to take any further risks.
“We didn’t want to have a situation like last season where we had to call off IPL mid-way after there was a bubble breach in IPL teams. It’s better to have the tournament being played in one state where teams can travel by bus,” a BCCI official
The Indian board has finalised MCA-BKC ground, DY Patil and Brabourne as venues for practice for ten IPL teams and is looking to add a few more to the list. It is expected that Thane’s Daddoji Kondev Stadium and MCA-Kandivali ground will be used for IPL team practice sessions.
The IPL will be a ten-team affair this season after the Indian board added two new teams: Ahmedabad’s Gujarat’s Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.
Exhibition game for women
The Indian board is also planning to have a women’s T20 exhibition game in Pune. However, there was a discussion on having a full-fledged women’s IPL going ahead next year.
Former India pacer Javagal Srinath, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, and an Indian umpire will be part of the suspect action committee which will look after cases related to suspect action found during IPL.