The glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is around the corner as the teams set their sights on the coveted trophy after the massive windfall in the recently concluded mega auction. IPL is the highly touted cricket league in the world and the reason is its popularity among the fans. In the backdrop of the dreading Covid-19 pandemic, fans were barred from entering into the stadium as the matches were being played behind the the closed doors.
Maharashtra Sports Minister Sunil Kedar in an exclusive interview with Sports Tak said that he is hopeful that crowds would be allowed for the IPL matches that are set to take place in Maharashtra, starting from March 26.
"We want to have crowd for IPL for which we will assess the situation and take call on it accordingly. It would be really great if fans can come and watch IPL. I hope the way Covid-19 cases are reducing day by day, we have a free (atmosphere). Hopefully with Sidhi Vinayak Ganpathy’s blessing everything will be alright and the atmosphere will be such that all people will be permitted to visit the stadiums," Kedar said.
"IPL in Maharashtra tells you the success story of Maharashtra how well the state has done during the Covid times," he further added.
On being asked about whether the BCCI has told anything about the crowd capacity, Kedar said: " Of course, if everything gets well definitely yes , will sit with BCCI officials and take call accordingly."
The league matches of the upcoming IPL edition will be held across four venues - iconic Wankhede stadium, Cricket Club of India (Brabourne stadium), DY Patil Stadium and Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium at Gahunje in Pune.
The tournament will kickstart from 26th March, 2022 and the final will be played on 29th May, 2022.
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.
The addition of two new franchises has prompted the league to have two separate groups. The teams in each group were decided based on the number of titles won by the franchises and the number of appearances in the final of the IPL. Therefore, Mumbai Indians (MI) with five titles and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with four titles were drafted first.
IPL 2022 Group A Teams:
1) Mumbai Indians (MI)
2) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
3) Rajasthan Royals (RR)
4) Delhi Capitals (DC)
5) Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
IPL 2022 Group B Teams:
1) Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
2) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
3) Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
4) Punjab Kings (PBKS)
5) Gujarat Titans (GT)
