IPL 2021 schedule: Seven takeaways from Indian Premier League full match list

IPL 2021 schedule: Here are seven key takeaways from the full IPL fixtures list announced on Sunday.

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be played in India, starting on April 9, with the final scheduled for May 30. The tournament will be held across six cities - Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata. Here are seven main takeaways from the full IPL fixtures list announced on Sunday.

 

Our correspondents Vijay Lokapally, Shayan Acharya and Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya discuss the men's side's season thus far and what to look forward to in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.

 

• For the first time in an edition in India, the teams will play only at neutral venues. The move is to negate the home advantage owing to limited venues to be used in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• All teams will play at four out of the six venues in the league stage.
• Five of the eight franchises will host the matches, but none of them will feature in their home-town.
• In the league stage, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each, and Ahmedabad and Delhi eight each. Ahmedabad will host the playoffs, including the final.
• The initial stage of the tournament, to be held in Mumbai and Chennai, will not have any spectators.
• There will be more double-headers this time (11), with two sides featuring in two day games (3:30pm) and six teams playing three day games.
• Each team will travel only thrice to minimise the risk of Covid-19.