IPL 2022 to take place from last week of March till May, BCCI confirms

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League(IPL) will begin in the last week of March and will end in May. Confirming the news, Jay Shah also informed that the majority of the team owners wanted the tournament to be held in India, ANI reported. While the biggest cricket league of the world gets underway in March, the IPL 2022 mega auctions is set to be held on February 12 and 13 where the 10 IPL teams will bid for 1,214 players in the auction pool. 

The development of the tournament being held in India comes as a relief for the IPL teams, as the entire 2020 season, and the second leg of the IPL 2021 season were held in the UAE, due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s brutal effects on India. Earlier in the day, PTI reported that the IPL owners have preferred the 15th edition of the tournament to be held in Mumbai and Pune. At the same time, if the COVID-19 situation worsens in the coming month, the UAE is the second choice of venue, while South Africa will be the final option. 

Which are the potential venues for IPL 2022?

As per a PTI report, a senior BCCI official said, “Today's meeting was primarily about owners trying to put forth their suggestions on the issue of their preferred venues. Most of the owners want the IPL to be held in India if all goes well and we are past the peak of third COVID-19 wave”. 

At the same time, the official also added that players won’t have to do any air travel as there would be no bubble to bubble transfer. “Mumbai has three grounds and we have the Pune ground which is more on the highway rather than Pune city. Doing it at Wankhede, Brabourne, and DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai) and Gahunje Stadium” the official told PTI. 

1,214 players register for IPL 2022 mega auction

The players auctions ahead of the 2022 edition of IPL will be a mega audition, as two new IPL teams are set to join the tournament from this season onwards. The new Lucknow and Ahmedabad IPL franchises will join the eight original IPL teams. Meanwhile, a total of 1,214 players have registered for the much-awaited IPL 2022 mega auction.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)