On March 7th, BCCI released the schedule for India Premier League for 2021 and stated that the matches will be played behind closed door due to the ongoing pandemic.
Here are some highlights of the Schedule
The first match is played between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challenger Bangalore in Chennai M.A Chidambaram Stadium on April 9th.
The stadiums and the teams playing in the stadium are irrelevant - it is unlikely that the Chennai team will play in Chennai and other teams too, as the BCCI planned less movement to ensure the COVID protocol are in place. So each team will travel only three times during the league stage.
If you observe the IPL schedule carefully only two stadiums are used at any given point in time. After using these two stadiums, the matches are shifting to another two stadiums. So, there is no wonder why the teams are not playing on their home grounds at any given point.
Stadiums Using in the IPL 2021
Chennai - M.A Chidambaram Stadium
Mumbai - Wankhede Stadium
Kolkata - Eden Gardens
Bangalore - Chinnaswamy stadium
Ahmadabad - Motera Stadium
Delhi - Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium
Delhi and Ahmedabad host eight matches each and the remaining all stadiums host 10 matches each in the league stage.
Double Matches on weekends
There will be a total of 11 doubleheaders where 6 teams will play three-afternoon matches & two teams will play two-afternoon matches. The afternoon games start at 3:30 PM IST and the evening games will start at 7:30 PM IST.
Qualifiers
The first qualifier match is on the 25th of May, Eliminator is on the 26th, the second qualifier is on 28th and the final is on the 30th of May. All these matches are going to take place in Ahmedabad Motera Stadium.
Where to stream the matches
You can stream the matches in Disney Plus Hotstar app by paying a minimum of ₹365 per annum or you can watch it on Star Sports by paying to your DTH or cable operator.
IPL Schedule
You can download the IPL Schedule at https://hpurl.tk/IPLcal
Chances of postponement of the Tournament
BCCI successfully hosted last year’s tournament with strict protocols and bio bubbles. But the tournament is postponed as the covid cases are increasing in the country.
There is a high chance that this tournament might be postponed again this year as the Covid cases in Maharashtra are increasing. If the local government impose or the central government impose any stricter rules to seize the virus, there will be the slightest chance that these matches might take place.
BCCI can argue that there will not be any crowd involved in the entire tournament and allow them to play the matches.
Let’s hope for the best that the tournament will be played without any disturbances from the government and the virus.
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