BCCI announced the much anticipated IPL 2021 schedule on 7th March. The 14th season of IPL kicks off with Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on the 9th of April. It is not just this game, but all the IPL matches are scheduled in such a way that no team gets to play at home.
All of the four play-offs are scheduled to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Never before has the IPL schedule been talked about so much. This season could be the last IPL for MS Dhoni, and the fact that he will not play at CSK’s home venue, has not impressed the fans at all.
Delhi Capitals will play their first 3 matches at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. BCCI’s plan to not allow any team a home advantage may flop in this case. Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, and DC skipper, Shreyas Iyer are all from Mumbai. As a result, DC is likely to have an advantage over CSK, RR, and PKS in their first 3 games of the season.
Moreover, Punjab Kings, who have Anil Kumble as the head coach, KL Rahul as their captain and Mayank Agarwal as an opener, play 5 matches in Bangalore. Their experience and knowledge of the conditions at Chinnaswamy Stadium, is likely to give them an advantage.
The IPL 2021 schedule features a total of 11 double-header match days. The match timings will be the same as the last season. On a double header day, the first T20 will commence at 3:30 PM while the second match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM. Unlike previous seasons when the double-headers were scheduled to be played exclusively on weekends, the IPL 2021 schedule has double-headers falling on weekdays as well.
View the full 2021 IPL Schedule including dates, times and venues.