On March 22, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings will host Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the first match of the IPL 2024.
On Thursday, the IPL revealed a partial schedule that included an initial round of 21 matches between March 22 and April 7. The IPL final is set to take place on May 26, with only five days until the start of the men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in the United States and the Caribbean beginning June 1.
The fact that the IPL 2024 is projected to coincide with the general elections, as it did in 2009, 2014, and 2019, was the most significant hurdle. Previously, the cricket carnival coincided with the polls twice, causing confusion about who would host the event. The 2009 season was totally shifted to South Africa, however in 2014, the IPL was split into two halves, one in the UAE and the other in India.
In 2019, the two tournaments did not coincide, therefore the IPL, which began on March 23, was played exclusively in India. This time, the IPL council has opted to disclose the calendar in part, with the second half of the tournament schedule expected once the Election Commission of India announces the dates of the national elections, which are expected to take place in April and May.
The first schedule has four doubleheaders, including two on the opening weekend. On March 23, Punjab Kings will face Delhi Capitals at home, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens.
On March 24, the Rajasthan Royals will play their debut game against the Lucknow Super Giants, while Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians will face his former team, the Gujarat Titans, away.
The Capitals are the only franchise that will not play at their home venue, Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla, between March 22 and April 7; both of those games will be played at Visakhapatnam’s ACA-VDCA Stadium.
The Capitals, Titans, and RCB will play five of their 14 matches during this 17-day period. KKR will only play three matches, while the other franchises will play four. The Punjab Kings will most likely play their home games in a fresh new stadium, Mullanpur on the outskirts of Chandigarh, rather than their customary home in Mohali.
While it feels like just last month that Ravindra Jadeja hit a boundary off the last ball to lift Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title, the truth is that it’s been eight long months since that historic night in Ahmedabad. And on March 22, the Men-in-Yellow will return to action, with all eyes on the charismatic MS Dhoni, who stated last year that winning the IPL in 2023 would have been the ideal time for him to retire, but he intends to return for one final run ‘next year’.
Hardik Pandya will also return as captain of the Mumbai Indians, replacing Rohit Sharma. There will also be eyes on Rishabh Pant, who is scheduled to return to competitive cricket after missing time due to a terrible vehicle accident in December 2022.
