The 2022 season of the Indian Premier League will be held in India behind closed doors. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) source on Saturday disclosed that Mumbai will host the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league.
Wankhede Stadium, Cricket Club of India (CCI) and DY Patil Stadium will be the likely venues in Mumbai while Pune might also host some matches.
“IPL 2022 will be held in India without a crowd. Likely venues are Wankhede Stadium, Cricket Club of India (CCI), DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai & Pune if needed,” as per the top source in BCCI
“IPL 2022 will be in India only. It will be in Mumbai and will be without a crowd,” the top source added.
In 2020, the IPL was fully moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Additionally, the 2021 edition of IPL started behind closed doors in India but was forced to be postponed midway owing to a surge in the number of cases within the bio-bubbles during the catastrophic second wave that engulfed the country. It was eventually continued and finished in the UAE later in September.
Due to the surge in cases again in the last month, the BCCI has postponed all scheduled domestic events, including the Ranji Trophy this year.
Recently, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla has stated that the cricket board will make every effort to ensure that the next edition of IPL takes place in India. Although no official dates have been set, IPL 2022 is expected to begin in early April, with the auction possibly taking place in early February.
The upcoming season of IPL will be a ten-team affair with the addition of two new franchises- Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
The BCCI has already announced that a total of 1,214 players (896 Indian and 318 overseas players) have signed up to be part of the IPL 2022 Player Auction. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is gearing up for the two-day mega auction next month in Bengaluru.