Jay Shah said IPL 15 is set to start at the end of March.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Saturday (January 22) confirmed that the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season will begin in the last week of March and the season will conclude towards end of May.
"I am delighted to confirm that the 15th season of the IPL will start in the last week of March and will run until May end. A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India. The BCCI was always keen on staging the 2022 edition that will see two new teams - Ahmedabad and Lucknow - in India," Shah said in an official statement.
"I can tell you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that IPL stays in India. The BCCI has not compromised on the health and safety of its stakeholders in the past and will concurrently work on Plan B since the COVID-19 situation with new variants remains fluid. The mega IPL Auction will take place on February 12-13th and we will lock in venues before that," he added.
The IPL player registration closed on January 20 and a total of 1,214 players (896 Indian and 318 overseas) have signed up to be part of the 2022 player auction.
The two-day mega auction on February 12 and 13 will see 10 teams, including the two new franchises Lucknow and Ahmedabad, bidding for some of the finest talents in world cricket. The players' list incorporates 270 capped, 903 uncapped, and 41 Associate players.
The detailed list is as follows: Capped Indian (61 players), Capped International (209 players), Associate (41 players), Uncapped Indians who were a part of previous IPL seasons (143 players), Uncapped International who were a part of previous IPL seasons (6 players), Uncapped Indians (692 players), and Uncapped Internationals (62 players).
(With ANI inputs)