Mumbai, March 8: The IPL Governing Council on Sunday (March 7) announced the schedule for the IPL 2021. The fourteenth edition of the domestic T20 league returns home and all the matches will be held across six cities i.e. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
This is going to be the first instance when there will be no home and away venues for the teams and the tournament will be played behind closed initially and the decision over opening the stadium for the spectators will be taken at a later stage.
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After nearly two years, the T20 extravaganza will return home as the COVID-19 pandemic forced IPL 2020 to be shifted to the UAE. The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage. It will therefore reduce commute and minimising the risk of infection.
The newly rechristened Punjab Kings are set to take on Rajasthan Royals in their opening game in IPL 2021 on April 12. The KL Rahu-led side, previously known as the Kings XI Punjab will begin their IPL campaign in Mumbai and won't get to play a single match at their home ground i.e. the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
The franchise's co-owner Preity Zinta seemed upset with the fact that the teams won't be getting a chance to play at their home grounds and make use of the home advantage. She also rued the fact that without fans in the stadium, the tournament could just be a dull affair.
The actress took to her Twitter handle and wrote: "IPL schedule is finally here & @PunjabKingsIPL starts #IPL2021 in amchi Mumbai then travels to Chennai, Ahmedabad & Bangalore for our league matches. It's a weird feeling that no teams will play any matches at their home venues & there will be no crowds in the stadiums as of now."
IPL schedule is finally here & @PunjabKingsIPL starts #IPL2021 in amchi Mumbai then travels to Chennai, Ahmedabad & Bangalore for our league matches. It’s a weird feeling that no teams will play any matches at their home venues & there will be no crowds in the stadiums as of now.
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) March 7, 2021
The Punjab side will end its league stage against the Rajasthan team as well, playing their final league game on May 22nd.