IPL Set To Begin From March 21 in Kolkata

There has been a slight change to the schedule for the 18th edition of the Indian premier league. The tournament was originally scheduled to begin from 14th March but now the tournament has been postponed for a week & will begin from March 21 in Kolkata & the finals are likely to be held on May 25 at the same venue.

IPL Postponed By a Week!

There are two different versions that surround the schedule saga ahead of the mega auctions in Jeddah last year, the BCCI had stated that the IPL will begin from March 14 and will end on May 25. The board had also announced the starting dates for next two IPL seasons as well.

However, it is now being speculated that those things were just a mere indication of the window that has been reserved to host the IPL and not the actual dates. The second version attributes the delay to a request from broadcasters, who have requested the stakeholders to postpone the start of the IPL by a week in view of the ICC Champions Trophy that ends on March 9 just 5 days ahead of the IPL kickoff on March 14. However, the Broadcasters have denied all such rumors.

The venues for the key games are on the expected lines. Eden Gardens, home the Kolkata Knight Riders, champions of IPL 2024, will host both the opener and the final, in line with the practice of holding these matches in the winning side's home city. Meanwhile, the SunRisers Hyderabad, last season's runners-up, will host two playoff games.

The exact schedule is expected to be announced in the coming days, now that the BCCI has elected a full-term secretary, Devjit Saikia, and treasurer, Prabhtej Singh Bhatia. Both officials were chosen during the Special General Meeting held in Mumbai on Sunday (January 12).

Meanwhile BCCI Vice-President Mr. Rajiv Shukla has also disclosed some key details, namely- the Indian squad for the champions trophy will be announced on January 17th or 18th, while he also stated that the venues for the third season of the WPL have finalized & will be announced soon.