The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to begin from March 22 onwards, said league chairman Arun Dhumal, who further mentioned that the entire tournament will be held in India despite the dates coinciding with general elections. With the elections expected to be held in April and May, the schedule for IPL 2024 has not been unveiled yet.
Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI) on Tuesday, Dhumal revealed that only the schedule for the first 15 days of the tournament will be announced initially, while the remainder of the roster will be decided only after the announcement of the general election dates. The dates of the Lok Sabha polls are expected to be announced early next month.
"We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India," said Dhumal.
It is to be mentioned that, In 2009, the entire IPL tournament was held outside India (South Africa) while in 2014, the opening 20 games were held in the UAE due to the general elections in the respective years. However, in 2019 the entire event was held in India despite the elections. The two other IPL seasons that were held outside India (UAE) were 2020 and 2021 (partially), but both were due to Covid restrictions in India.
Given that the IPL 2024 season will be immediately followed by the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, the league's final will likely be held on May 26. The ICC event will begin on June 1. India, placed in Group B, will begin their campaign on June 5 against Ireland in New York.
As is the norm, the IPL opener will be played between last year's finalists, the winners Chennai Super Kings in this case and runners-up Gujarat Titans.
The players' auction for the 2024 season was held in December last year and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the league after being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹24.75 crore.
