IPL 2021: Twitter erupts in joy as BCCI announces the schedule of cash rich league

Cricket fans should brace themselves for thrill and excitement as the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to be played in India across six venues namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. On Sunday, March 6, the IPL governing council released the schedule for the much-awaited T20 Championship, which will run from April 9, 2021, to May 30. 

IPL 2021 will witness a total of 11 doubleheaders where 6 teams will play three-afternoon matches & two teams will play two-afternoon matches. To dismiss the home advantage for any team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided that all eight teams will play only on 4 venues out of six selected, barring their home ground.

This will also reduce the risk of the novel coronavirus as the teams will be required to travel only three times during the league stage. The playoffs and the final of the marquee event will be hosted at the newly-built Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, the authorities still need to decide on the availability of the fans in the stadium. 

RCB to lock horns against MI in the inaugural IPL 2021 match

Coming to the schedule, the 2021 edition of the T20 extravaganza is all set for a crackling start as defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will lock horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai. While in the IPL 2020 played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mumbai had emerged as the champions for the fifth time, the Bangalore outfit had finished at fourth position after losing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator.

The organizers will be expecting a record-breaking viewership for the inaugural match as the fans will be looking forward to the rivalry between the two biggest names of Indian Cricket in the modern era, Virat Kohli (RCB skipper) and Rohit Sharma (MI skipper). Thus far in IPL, RCB and MI have locked horns against each other 27 times, with the latter outplaying the former and emerging victorious 17 times.

As soon as the BCCI announced the schedule of IPL 2021, Twitter went berserk with the fans showing their excitement and eagerness by making memes and edits.