The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 15th edition will get underway at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday (March 26) with a clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. However, fans of IPL 2022 are in for some disappointment as for the fourth year in a row there will be on opening ceremony for the T20 league.
The IPL 2022 is all set to expand with two new teams – Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans – coming in this season and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expecting big gains from media rights sale of the tournament this month.
If reports are to be believed, the BCCI has once again decided to do away with the opening ceremony ahead of the season’s opening encounter between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the decision has evoked mixed reaction on social media.
There are people who consider ceremonies like these to be a waste of money and have lauded the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI for making the right call. But the majority of the supporters lashed out at the BCCI for killing the fun and not doing enough to make the tournament more appealing.
For more than a decade, the IPL kick-started with the opening ceremonies but the BCCI decided to do away with it in the 2019 edition. This year will be the fourth year in a row when the IPL begins without any glitzy and glamourous ceremony.
Check fans’ reaction to cancellation of IPL 2022 opening ceremony here…
The IPL 2022 is set to welcome fans back to the stadiums with the governing body of the lucrative league announcing on Wednesday that the three venues – Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune – will allow 25 per cent occupancy from March 26 onwards.
“The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 resumes with the Chennai Super Kings taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26. This match will be a momentous occasion as the 15th edition of the IPL will welcome the fans back to the stadiums after a brief hiatus owing to the pandemic. Ardent cricket fans are all set to witness nail-biting matches, cheering for their favourite players at the most anticipated cricket tournament of all time,” IPL said in a statement.
“Fans can buy tickets starting March 23 for the league phase of the tournament,” added the statement. Keeping in mind the Covid-19 protocols, only 25 per cent occupancy will be allowed, said the statement.
