IPL 2024 to kickstart from March 22 in Chennai, reveals chairman Arun Dhumal

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to start the IPL (Indian Premier League) 2024 from Friday, March 22. The chairman of the governing council of the IPL, Arun Dhumal recently revealed that the schedule of the cash-rich league will be announced in two halves.

The BCCI will initially announce the schedule for the first two weeks of the tournament and the slot for the remaining games will be decided once the schedule for the general elections 2024 is out. Dhumal further stated that the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is the front-runner to host the curtain raiser of the 17^th season of the T20 extravaganza.

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"The plan is to start the tournament on March 22 in Chennai. We are keeping a tab on the situation and since the dates for the general elections are announced, we can plan the later half of the tournament accordingly,” Dhumal was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Notably, the IPL 2023 also began on Friday with Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans taking on each other in the opening fixture while the remaining eight teams locked horns against each other over the weekend in doubleheaders. The BCCI is planning on similar lines this time around as well, as the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 will be held on Sunday, March 17 leaving the next weekend free to host the first five games of the IPL 2024.

Earlier, there were widespread reports claiming that the tournament is likely to be shifted outside of India keeping the general elections in mind. However, Dhumal assured that the entire tournament will take place in India. A total of 74 matches will be played in the tournament including the four play-off matches. Besides, the CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan said that the IPL is planning to host an opening ceremony before the tournament opener to be played at Chepauk. However, Dhumal said that nothing in this regard has been finalized as yet. Moreover, there still remains a mystery over the two teams who will likely open the play for the tournament.

"It has not been finalized yet," Dhumal was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"We have no information about the opponents as of now," the CSK CEO too chimed in regarding the season's opening match.

IPL 2019 was also entirely held in India despite general elections

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In the year 2019 as well, the IPL was entirely played in India despite the General Elections that year. However in election year 2014, the first half was held in UAE while in 2009 the entire tournament was held in South Africa.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be seen defending their crown in the upcoming season as they clinched their fifth title in 2023 beating Gujarat Titans in a thrilling final. All eyes will be on their skipper MS Dhoni who is likely to play the final season of his IPL career. The ‘Captain Cool’ will look to finish of his career in style by leading CSK to a record sixth title.