IPL 2024: Why has BCCI announced a partial schedule?
The IPL 2024 will commence with Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 22.
The 17th edition of the IPL (Indian Premier League) is all set to begin on March 22, and the schedule for the first 17 days of the tournament has been announced. The opening game of the competition will see defending champions Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
With the schedule announcement, many fans came forward to question why the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) only revealed the schedule for the opening 21 matches. It's worth noting that the reason for the same is a non-cricketing one.
2024 will see IPL’s dates clash with the general elections in the country. The Election Commission is expected to announce the polling dates nationwide in mid-March, and the BCCI is waiting to announce the remainder of the matches after the polling dates are made public.
It's also interesting to note that the polling dates of the 2019 general elections were conducted over seven phases, which caused the BCCI to announce the schedule for IPL 2019 for the first two weeks itself. For the current tournament, there are no plans in place to relocate the IPL due to the elections; only time will tell how the situation pans out in the future.
Chennai Super Kings to open IPL 2024
Talking of the IPL 2024, the season opener of the competition will see defending champions Chennai Super Kings take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 22. Led by MS Dhoni, Chennai will be keen to embark on the tournament with a flourish.
The side put in brilliant performances in the 16th edition of the competition, going all the way after defeating Gujarat Titans in the final. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore had a season to forget in 2023. Led by Faf du Plessis, Bangalore failed to make it to the knockout stages after they finished in sixth position in the standings with 14 points in as many matches.
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