The games will be played behind closed doors and a call for permission from viewers will be received later, IPL officials said.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament begins on April 9 in Chennai and will be played in six locations, initially without a spectator.
The world’s richest Twenty20 competition relocated to the United Arab Emirates last year as India struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to bring the tournament home, but the pandemic forced several changes in the way it should be played.
“This year’s IPL at home will initially be played behind closed doors and a call for permission will be received from the spectators later in the tournament,” said Jay Shah, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a statement.
Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will host the playoffs and final on May 30th, with Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata being the other venues.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game, led by India’s captain Virat Kohli.
🚨 BCCI announces schedule for VIVO IPL 2021 🚨
The season starts on April 9th ​​in Chennai and the final takes place on May 30th at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
More details here – https://t.co/yKxJujGGcD #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/qfaKS6prAJ
– IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 7, 2021
“The games have been mapped so that each team only travels three times during the league phase, which reduces commuting and minimizes risk,” said Shah.
“Having held the tournament safely and successfully in the United Arab Emirates last year, BCCI is confident that it will host the IPL at home with the health and safety of the players and everyone involved as a priority,” he added.
It will be a 52 day tournament with a total of 60 games.
The news comes just days after neighboring Pakistan was forced to suspend its Pakistan Super League (PSL) after seven team members – including p[layers-testedpositiveforCOVID-19[Schichten-positivaufCOVID-19getestetwurden[layers–testedpositiveforCOVID-19
Authorities had given the PSL tournament permission to increase attendance from 20 percent to 50 percent, despite Pakistan recording more than 590,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 13,200 deaths.
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