The curtains will be raised on the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League with the repeat of last year’s final between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Beginning on March 26, the tournament will run till May 29 in an extended window that sees the IPL’s return to a 10-team competition after a decade since 2011 and also the rise in the number of matches from 60 to 74.
There will be 70 league stage matches held in the competition, with each team playing 14 matches in their quest to make the playoffs and push for the coveted trophy. The BCCI and IPL governing council have already announced the details of the format in play.
Ten teams will be divided into two groups of five each. The groups are balanced out on the basis of historic titles won and finals reached. Equally successful teams in the league’s history find themselves in separate groups. Teams will play their fellow group rivals and one team from the other group twice and will complete their remaining fixtures with one-off encounters against other teams from that group.
The cross-group double clash arrangement was also decided on the basis of historic titles won and finals reached, which means Mumbai Indians will be up against CSK twice despite being in separate groups. In virtual Group A, MI are joined by KKR, along with inaugural season winners Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and new entrants Gujarat Titans.
In Group B, 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings join CSK and new entrants Lucknow Super Giants.
As per the schedule that came to light on March 6 afternoon, the first double-header for the tournament will be held on March 27 with DC and MI contesting an afternoon game and PBKS and RCB an evening one. In total, there will be 12 double-headers held in the tournament, all on Saturdays and Sundays for maximum viewership during the eight-week window.
As was announced earlier, the IPL 2022 will be held in a Mumbai-Pune bubble to limit air travel and reduce the possibilities of a Covid breach inside the league. Four venues will be used in Maharashtra: namely, Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium, DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai and MCA International Stadium in Pune.
To keep things fair for all sides, the BCCI and IPL governing council had announced that each team will play an equal number of games at every venue. Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium will host each of the ten IPL franchises for four games apiece, while Brabourne Stadium and MCA Stadium in Pune will be in use for their three league matches respectively.
The league stage finishes on May 22 with a match between SRH and PBKS at Wankhede. It is believed the playoffs, including the two Qualifiers and Eliminator, will be held on May 24, 25, 27 ahead of the final on May 29. The venue for the playoffs is not yet announced but there is a strong likelihood of the newly-built Ahmedabad Stadium being put to use.
Initially it was feared that the IPL 2022 might be held behind closed doors due to pandemic concerns. But the Maharashtra government has decided to allow fully-vaccinated spectators to attend matches at 25% capacity at all four venues. ESPNcricinfo reported, the SOPs for the tournament feature a necessary three-day quarantine for all teams and negative testing on the fourth day, before being allowed to enter the IPL bubble.
