Follow UsThe Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will witness 25% crowd attendance, the organisers announced on Wednesday (March 23).
The new season is set to get underway with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday (March 26).
"This match will be a momentous occasion as the 15th edition of the IPL will welcome fans back to the stadiums after a brief hiatus owing to the pandemic," an IPL release stated.
"The matches will be played across stadiums in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & Pune with an audience occupancy rate of 25% as per COVID-19 protocols," the release added.
With the addition of two new teams - Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT) - IPL 2022 will have as many as 74 matches. 70 of those matches will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
As many as 20 games each will be held at Wankhede and DY Patil, while 15 each will be hosted at Brabourne and MCA International stadium, Pune.
The IPL returns to India after about a year. In 2021, the league was played behind closes doors across a few venues in India but was suspended mid-way in May after multiple COVID-19 cases were reported in its bio-bubble. The remaining matches were then played in the UAE in September-October.
The 2020 edition of the league was also played in the UAE. The tickets for the league phase will go on sale from Wednesday (March 23).
(With inputs from PTI)