The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to get underway on March 26 with the clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
A total of 70 league matches will be played across four international standard venues in Mumbai and Pune. The venue for the playoff matches will be decided later.
For the cash-rich tournament, the BCCI is planning to allow more than 25% of crowd capacity in the stadiums.
Notably, the Maharashtra government has permitted one-fourth of the stadium’s capacity for IPL 2022 games in the time of the pandemic. However, the Indian board is confident that the capacity would be increased as the competition progresses since the COVID-19 cases have dropped in the country.
“That is our understanding. Going forward the stadiums will have more fans than initial games. With Covid cases coming down by the day, we are hoping more people will be in the stands,” an office-bearer of the BCCI quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Wankhede Stadium will host 20 matches while 15 matches will be played at Brabourne Stadium (CCI). DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai will host 20 matches whereas Pune's MCA International Stadium will conduct 15 matches.
As per the report, the Wankhede Stadium will have 9,800-10,000 spectators, Brabourne Stadium will have up to 7-8,000 while the DY Patil Stadium will allow 11-12,000 fans. The Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune will have an initial fill of 12,000.
The BCCI has also expressed satisfaction over the presence of crowd in the stadiums for the recent games against West Indies and Sri Lanka.
“Team India have just wrapped an amazing home run with clean sweep, first over West Indies team and now against the Sri Lankan team. The pink-ball Test in Bengaluru witnessed a full house and the team led by Mr Rohit Sharma outperformed the opponents in all three departments,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote in a letter to the state units.
(With Cricbuzz inputs)
