MS Dhoni-led CSK will play their first match in front of their home crowd at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The BCCI on Thursday unveiled the schedule of 21 matches for the first 17 days of the tournament, taking into consideration the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The complete IPL schedule will be disclosed at a later date, pending the finalisation of the general election dates.
Delhi Capitals will take on Punjab Kings on March 23 in Mohali. As per the format, 10 teams are divided into two groups of five.
In the group stage, each team plays 14 games facing the other four sides in their group two times each (home and away basis), four teams in the other group once, and the remaining team two times.
Despite the upcoming general elections, the tournament will take place entirely in India.
The IPL was held entirely overseas only once, in 2009, in South Africa. In 2014, a portion of the tournament was held in the UAE due to the elections. However, in 2019, the IPL took place in India despite the elections.
The final of the IPL is likely to be held in the last week of May, just before the start of the T20 World Cup. India’s first World Cup match will be against Ireland in New York on June 5.
The T20 World Cup will start with a clash between the USA and Canada on June 2.
The IPL players’ auction for the 2024 season took place in December last year, with Australian pacer Mitchell Starc becoming the most expensive player in IPL history after being bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore.
