Star Sports Wants BCCI To Start IPL 2022 From March 26 Onwards - Reports

The official broadcasters of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Star Sports of Disney-Star, have reportedly urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to commence the upcoming IPL 2022 season from March 26 onwards.

The board is yet to share the schedule of the tournament, which will feature 10 teams with the addition of Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to the mix.

Cricbuzz has reported that The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Disney Star are having varying views on the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

While the board wants to begin the tournament from March 27 onwards, the broadcaster wants them to begin the league a day earlier on March 26 and the BCCI is believed to be considering if the broadcaster’s demand to advance the launch by a day should be acceded to.

As per Cricbuzz reports, multiple IPL sources that Star has been insisting on a Saturday start as it wants to set the momentum for the league with a doubleheader on March 27, a Sunday, which, otherwise, would not be possible.

Star Wants BCCI To Start The IPL 2022 With Three Matches On A Weekend To Set The Tone

On Monday (March 28), there cannot be a double-header unless it is a national holiday. Normally on the launch days, there is only one game. This is one of the reasons the BCCI has not yet shared the schedule of the league so far.

“We understand that a Saturday start helps the broadcaster to kick-start the league with a bang with three matches in the first weekend. A Sunday inauguration would not permit that. The BCCI and the broadcasters were in discussion over this and eventually, it could be on March 26,” a franchise official, in the know of the negotiations, has revealed.

The BCCI had assured to come back to the franchises about the schedule and venue by February 20. The new development, it is understood, has delayed things a little.

In a recent communication to the commentators, Star has asked them to be ready from March 19 to June 7.

“At the onset, wanted to check with you on your availability for IPL 2022 on the world feed broadcast.

“So request you to please provide your availability not only for the tournament but probably say minus 8-10 days from the start date and plus five days from the end date to be safe, so effectively from 19th March 2022 to say June 7, 2022 (sic),” the mail says.

Apart from this, the BCCI are yet to announce the venues for the IPL 2022, as it is monitoring the COVID-19 situation in India. There have been some deliberations if the league can be spread across more venues considering that the Covid threat to the league has considerably compact. However, there is every probability that the BCCI will settle for Maharashtra (Mumbai and Pune).

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which has been kept in the loop, has identified the four grounds – the Wankhede, the Brabourne, DY Patil Stadium and Pune ground – where the matches can be played. The MCA is also working on tackling the issue of providing practice facilities to the 10 IPL teams for the tournament as well.

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