For the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, franchises have been divided into two virtual groups based on the number of titles they have won in the previous seasons. The key decision was taken at the IPL governing council meeting on Thursday (February 24).
The Group A is comprised of Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) while Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Gujarat Titans (GT) feature in Group 2.
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As per the new rule, each team will play twice with the teams in their group and with the team in the same row in the second group. With the rest of the teams in the second group, they will play only once during the season.
Sharing his two cents on the same, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said Mumbai Indians won't be very happy with the new format and he also termed the Group ‘A’ a tough one.
Notably, MI will have to play CSK twice and once against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, and Gujarat Titans.
“Mumbai will be playing against Kolkata, Rajasthan, DC, Lucknow twice. They will also play two times against CSK. They will play all the tough teams two times, but play only once against Sunrisers, RCB, Punjab and Gujarat Titans. I think they won't be very happy. Look at Hyderabad, they will be playing two times against Kolkata (from group A) and play once against Mumbai, DC, Rajasthan and Lucknow. So they will be playing the tough teams only once, so win or lose it doesn't matter much. Group A is going to be the tough one,” Chopra said on his Youtube channel.
The ex-India opener further said that he likes the format better than the one used by the ICC during World Cup tournaments.
“It is not like that top teams from each group will make the playoffs. The top four will be decided based on the points gained from all the 14 matches that they play because every team is going to play at least once against each other. That is why I find this system better that World Cup's, although it still isn't the ideal one,” Aakash opined.
The IPL 2022 will get underway on 26th March and the final will be played on 29th May. A total of 70 league matches will be played across four venues in Mumbai and Pune while the venue for the playoff matches will be decided later.
