The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is expected to begin on March 27, almost a week ahead of the planned start of the tournament, Cricbuzz reported.

According to the report, the decision was taken after discussions with IPL team owners during a meeting on Saturday (January 22).

Despite a massive upsurge in COVID-19 cases over the last month, the BCCI is confident of hosting the tournament across four venues in Maharashtra – the Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium, DY Patil Stadium and the MCA Stadium in Gahunje.

The meeting was reputedly attended by all owners, including the promoters of the two new franchises - Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The discussions were largely around the venue, with South Africa and UAE being considered as a backup.

UAE, it is learnt, was eventually rejected bearing in mind that the dew will be a major factor in April and May in the Middle East.

While some BCCI officials reportedly wanted to shift the cash-rich league to South Africa, most owners were in favour of conducting the tournament in India. In the end, the Maharashtra option was zeroed in since holding the matches in Mumbai and Pune will eliminate flight travel, which was one of the concerns for the BCCI after COVID cases in the bio-bubble last year.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has also informed the owners that there is no plan to postpone the auction, nor move it from Bengaluru. It is scheduled to take place on February 12 and 13, as originally planned.

Furthermore, the discussions also involved the date and venue for the IPL 2022 mega auction, which is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. The Indian board reportedly informed the franchise that the auction will take place as scheduled.

(With Cricbuzz inputs)