BCCI is planning to start IPL 2024 from March 22: IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it is planning to start Indian Premier League 2024 season from March 22. The season's schedule will be divided in two halves. 

The schedule for the first half will be announced and then the schedule for the other half will be announced after the announcement of general election dates, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal told news agency ANI.

“As of now, we plan to start the tournament in Chennai on March 22,” Dhumal said. 

He added: “We are keeping a tab on the situation and since the dates for the general elections are announced, we can plan the later half of the tournament accordingly…”

The IPL's 17th edition schedule has not been unveiled yet due to the upcoming elections in April and May.

"We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India," said Dhumal.

The dates of the Lok Sabha polls are expected to be announced early next month.

Only one IPL was completely held overseas in South Africa in 2009. Additionally, there was a partial hosting that took place in UAE for the 2014 edition due to concurrent general elections in India. Interestingly, this particular scenario did not pose any hindrance when another instance of concurrent general elections clashed with IPL’s timeline and therefore allowed for IPL's full domestic execution back in 2019.

It is important to note that given that IPL's schedule runs immediately adjacently with that of the T20 World Cup this year in the West Indies and the Caribbean., it is anticipated that the finale will tentatively be scheduled on May 26. However, India's first match in the World Cup is scheduled nine days later, on June 5.

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