IPL 2022 is expected to be held behind closed doors because of the spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, and the venues are likely to be Mumbai and Pune.
“IPL 2022 will be held in India without a crowd. Likely venues are Wankhede Stadium, Cricket Club of India (CCI), DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai and Pune if needed," a top source in BCCI told ANI.
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Meanwhile, the BCCI is mulling two start dates for the IPL, with some preferring a March 27 start and few other influential people wanting the mega event to begin on April 2, which conforms to the Lodha Committee ruling.
"Some of the owners prefer March 27 start but India play their last international game against Sri Lanka, a T20I at Lucknow on March 18, and then you need a 14-day gap as per Lodha rule which is why April 2 could be the start date," a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
It is also learnt that all the 10 IPL owners, including the two new teams from Lucknow and Ahmedabad, want India as the host country for the 2022 IPL, with Mumbai and Pune being the two preferred cities.
Their second choice is the United Arab Emirates where the IPL has been held thrice while the final option is South Africa where the mega event was held back in 2009.
However, the UAE and South Africa will only come into the picture if the Covid-19 situation in India worsens.
As reported in some quarters, Sri Lanka as a host was not even discussed.
The BCCI has already announced that 1,214 players (896 Indian and 318 overseas players) have signed up to be part of the IPL 2022 Player Auction, which will be held over two days next month in Bengaluru.
