IPL 2022 likely to be hosted in India behind closed doors, tournament to get underway in March – Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is confident of hosting the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) entirely in India. IPL was moved out of India and shifted to UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Last year, the first phase of the tournament was played in India before the league was moved to the UAE once again due to a COVID-19 outbreak midway through the tournament.

However, as per a report in Cricbuzz, the BCCI is making all possible efforts to host the tournament in India this year. Maharashtra can host the entire tournament this time around as Mumbai and Pune have a total of four grounds near each other. The report added that the tournament is likely to begin from March 27 this year, a week ahead of the planned schedule.

The prospect of hosting the entire tournament in Maharashtra was discussed during a meeting between the BCCI and the owners of the IPL teams on Saturday (January 22). The matches will be played behind closed doors if the tournament is staged in India.

Besides the four stadiums in the two cities, it is believed that Maharashtra has enough hotels as well to accommodate all ten teams during the IPL 2022 season. However, as per Cricbuzz, the final decision on the venue is yet to be made and it is likely to be finalised on February 20 after the board has assessed the COVID-19 situation in the state.

The meeting on Saturday was attended by the owners of all ten teams and the major discussion was around the venue for the upcoming edition. BCCI presented the options of Mumbai-Pune, UAE and South Africa as potential venues for the tournament. UAE was rejected owing to the dew factor in the grounds during April and May.

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In the T20 World Cup last year, dew has played a major role in deciding big games as teams batting first had a major disadvantage. South Africa is the backup option in case the BCCI fails to organise the tournament in India. It remains to be seen what will be the final decision of the BCCI about the venue of the IPL this year.

It has also been confirmed that the upcoming IPL mega auction 2022 will be conducted as per schedule in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. A staggering 1214 players have registered for the mega auction this time.