The Indian Premier League will be back in action on Saturday, March 26. A 10-team tournament this time around, this cash-rich league will be played in Maharashtra to reduce the travel in pandemic conditions.
With excitement building for the tournament to start, reports in the Indian media suggest that the opening encounter of the season will be played between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. The finalists from the last season will take on the most successful team of the tournament to kick things off for a 74-match long season.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have already made it clear that 70 matches are going to be played across four stadiums in Maharashtra while the venues for the final four games are yet to be determined. But reports suggest that the tournament could well shift to Ahmedabad for the final flourish.
Mumbai vs Kolkata has been a very one-sided contest in the history of the league, but the template might not be the same this time around, with Kolkata revamping their entire batting order.
A report in the Times of India also suggests that the board has been assured of 'green channels' by the Maharashtra government so that players do not get stuck in Mumbai traffic jams en route stadiums.
The BCCI will hope to host a full IPL season after last year's failures with the bio-bubble situation. This has unarguably been the prime reason behind keeping the majority of the tournament in one city so that players do not have to travel through public spaces like airport.