The Mega Auction of IPL 2022 has been completed about a week ago and all the 10 franchises are ready with their respective squads. They must now be thinking about the best playing XI and strategies that might lead them to success in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Cricbuzz has reported big news about the tournament about which we shall be talking in this article.
IPL 2022: Final Date Confirmed
According to reports from Cricbuzz, the much-awaited 15th season of the Indian Premier League, i.e, the IPL 2022 season will see it’s final being played on 29th May. This implies that the tournament must start somewhere near the start of April.
Stadiums
However, that was not just it and there have been many other reports about the commencement of IPL 2022. There had been some rumours going viral on the Internet that said that the matches of IPL 2022 will be all played in Maharashtra – precisely in Mumbai and Pune only. Turns out, the news was true.
According to the latest reports, a total of 55 matches will be played combined at the Brabourne Stadium, Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium of Mumbai. Apart from that, 15 matches will also be played at the MCA stadium in Pune.
We shall see a major change in the format of IPL 2022 as well as this time 10 teams will be taking part instead of 8.
IPL 2022: New Format
Some notable changes include the division of the ten teams into two groups – Group A and Group B. The first 5 teams will take be a part of Group A while the other 5 will be a part of Group B.
Each team will be playing 14 league matches. Out of those 14 matches, 4 matches will be played each at Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium while 3 matches each will be played at Brabourne Stadium and Pune Stadium. This will be the same for all the 10 teams.
Coming back to the group system, each team will be playing the four other teams from their respective group twice. They will also play 2 games against 1 team from the other group and 1 game each against the other 4 teams.
This might seem to be difficult to understand at the beginning but it is expected to be the permanent 10-team format of IPL and it will be followed from now on. A similar format is followed in the US-based leagues like MLS, NFL and NBA and the Indian Premier League have seemingly taken inspiration for their schedule from them.
Although the accurate starting date of IPL 2022 has not been disclosed, BCCI is set to announce the full finalised schedule of IPL 2022 soon. It is almost certain that it will start in the first week of April and will go on for the two months.