On Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed the schedule and venues for the much-anticipated 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The cash-rich Indian top-tier league is scheduled to begin from April 9 and the finals will be played on 30th May. The biggest T20 tournament in the world will be played across six venues in India- Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Delhi and Ahmedabad. This year IPL Franchisees will be Loss around 25 cr to 30 cr from each team.
IPL 2021 to be played behind closed doors
The BCCI has decided that all the games in this year’s IPL will be played behind closed doors. This means, similar to last season, even this year the fans will not be allowed in the stadium. The following decision is being taken keeping the COVID-19 protocols in mind. The IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel stated that the spectators won’t be allowed in any games and an official announcement will soon be made. Patel further added that BCCI might make changes in venues if any unfortunate event takes place in the future.
“Yes, I can confirm that there will be no spectators allowed for this season. Not for a single match. We will have a Governing Council meeting in the next two days to ratify these decisions. The decision to take Mumbai as a venue was difficult. But we believe things will improve. But we are keeping our options open (to opt for a replacement venue in case the situation goes out of hand,” Brijesh Patel told Inside Sport in an exclusive interview on Sunday evening
MS Dhoni won’t be playing in Chennai
Chennai Super Kings expressed their disappointment regarding the games being played behind closed doors. However, the team is largely upset because CSK won’t be playing in Chennai in what could be MS Dhoni’s last season in the IPL. As per the new rules in this year’s IPL, no team will have home advantage, thus CSK won’t be playing a single game in the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
“You are denying MS Dhoni to play his potential last IPL in Chennai. If there are to be no crowds, what stops CSK to play in Chennai and Mumbai Indians to play in Mumbai,” the official told Cricbuzz.
Fans fuming after the statement
However, the statement by the CSK’s spokesperson didn’t go well with plenty of cricketing fans. The Netizens are not happy with how the team is just concerned about MS Dhoni and expects it to revolve around him. Have a look:
What do we call this being dumb or something else. No Home advantage means not for fun. It is the point here as a precaution to safety.
— Praveen Kumar Bheema #indian🇮🇳 (@praveen_bheema) March 8, 2021
Simple. Game is bigger than individual
— Nagpuri_santra (@SantraNagpuri) March 8, 2021
If there is no crowd, and everyone is watching on TV, what difference does it make if he plays in Chepauk or on the moon?
— Ashish ®️ (@JontyPenesar) March 8, 2021
If there are no crowds, how does it matter if Dhoni plays his last IPL in Chennai or not?
— Mikhail (@MikSpamsL2) March 8, 2021
Only dhoni is not playing in this ipl, there are 8 other teams 3 of which have no matches in their cities. So home advantage has to be ruled out
— Tanmay Sharma 🇮🇳 ❤ (@TanmayS26) March 8, 2021
