IPL 2022 to commence on March 26

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) is set to kickstart on March 26 with the league's Governing Council arriving at the decision on Thursday. The development has been confirmed according to a report on Cricbuzz.

According to the report, the IPL Governing Council staged a meeting earlier today and finalized March 26 as the date for the opening game of IPL 2022. The schedule for the ten-team event hasn't been finalized yet.

However, host broadcaster Star had requested the BCCI to begin the tournament on a Saturday.

The report further confirmed that the league phase will be staged across four venues in Maharashtra. Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium, Navi Mumbai's Dr. DY Patil Stadium and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune will host the 70 league games.

55 of those games are set to be played in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai while 15 league games will be held in Pune.

There were reports, however, suggesting the disappointment of others franchises regarding the Mumbai Indians (MI) playing at the Wankhede Stadium. Several franchises are believed to have expressed their displeasure over the five-time champions gaining an unfair home advantage.

Crowds to be allowed for IPL 2022

As per the Cricbuzz report, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has stated that crowds will be allowed to attend games in IPL 2022. Patel told Cricbuzz:

"The IPL will kick off on March 26, the full schedule will come soon. We will also have crowds but as per the policy of the Maharashtra government. Whether it will be 25 or 50 percent of the stadium capacity will be decided by the government instruction."

The IPL 2022 auction took place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. 204 players were bought by the ten franchises, with Ishan Kishan fetching the maximum sum of ₹ 15.25 crores from his previous team Mumbai Indians.