Capacity Crowds to return for Indian Premier League play offs

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has advised that the Indian Premier League’s upcoming play offs will be played in front of full capacity crowds in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

Kolkata’s Eden Gardens will host Qualifier 1 on 24th May followed by the Eliminator the next day, before, after a day's break, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will play host to Qualifier 2 on 27th May.

The Ahmedabad venue will also host the Indian Premier League (IPL) final on 29th May.

The finals series will be the first time in two years that the IPL will witness full capacity crowds, with its 2020 and 2021 editions severely affected by the pandemic.

The 2020 IPL took place in the United Arab Emirates due to the COVID-19 while the 2021 season commenced in India before a rise in COVID-19 cases forced the tournament to be suspended, with the UAE again stepping in to host the remainder of the campaign.

For the 2022 season, during the league phase, which is being played solely at four venues in Maharashtra, initially the IPL has had 25% crowds, increased to 50% as India’s Coronavirus situation eased.

Announcing the new arrangements for the finals, BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly stated “as far as the men’s IPL knockout stage matches are concerned, it would be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, with 100% attendance allowed for the matches to be played after the league stage finishes on May 22.”

Maharashtra four grounds that have been for the 2022 IPL season are the Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and the MCA Stadium in Pune.

This year’s IPL has expanded to a 10-team tournament after the rights to two new franchises - Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans - were awarded in October.

Image: The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.