This will not be the first time that IPL will be held abroad owing to clash of dates with the general election.
The 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from March 22 onwards in Bengaluru, where defending champions Chennai Super Kings will kick off the season in the opener against home team Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not announce the entire schedule for the tournament with The Election Commission of India yet to reveal the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. And while IPL chairman Arun Dhumal assured that the entire IPL 2024 tournament will be held in India, BCCI officials are already contemplating UAE as an option for the second season of the league, according to a report.
BCCI are yet to announce the full schedule of IPL 2024
“The Election Commission of India will announce the election schedule on Saturday at 3 pm. After that, the BCCI will decide whether IPL matches should be moved to Dubai. Currently, a few top BCCI officials are in Dubai to explore the possibility of organising the second half of the IPL in Dubai,” sources told Times of India.
Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.
ALSO READ: Solid Kohli, fiery Maxwell lead batting brigade but untested bowling a big concern: RCB SWOT Analysis before IPL 2024
On Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner announced the Lok Sabha election 2024 dates, revealing that it will be held in seven phases starting from April 19. Phase 1 polling will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third on May 7, fourth on May 13, fifth on May 20, sixth on May 25 and the final on June 1. The counting will be on June 4.
This will not be the first time that IPL will be held abroad owing to clash of dates with the general election. In 2009, the entire IPL tournament was held outside India (South Africa) while in 2014, the opening 20 games were held in the UAE due to the general elections in the respective years. However, in 2019 the entire event was held in India despite the elections.
BCCI has so far announced the schedule for the first 21 matches of the IPL 2024 tournament, which will be held between Match 22 and April 7, where the last match is between Lucknow Super Giant and former champions Gujarat Titans. The partial schedule also includes four double headers, both in the opening weekend.
RCB, Titans and Delhi Capitals are slated to play five matches in the first half of the tournament, while Kolkata Knight Riders will play only three games. All remaining franchises will play four games each. Delhi will play all their home games in Visakhapatnam. They will be the only franchise who won’t play any of their matches at their home ground
