IPL 2018 to start on April 7; Wankhede to host final

Even though the squads for the cash-rich IPL haven’t been finalized yet, the BCCI has decided to start the season on April 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with the defending Champions starting proceedings at home. The final of the tournament will be played at the same venue on May 27 while the full list of IPL fixtures is expected to be released sometime later this week.

However, the biggest change in the scheduling for the 11th edition of the IPL has to be the change in the timings of the matches. On Monday, the Governing Council has arrived at a consensus that the afternoon matches on a double game match-day will start at 5.30 pm instead of the usual 4 pm starts that the first 10 seasons witnessed. The night games will also see an early start time as they will commence at 7 pm for the convenience of the fans. 

“The Broadcasters requested for a change in timings and IPL governing council in principal has accepted it. Live broadcast of 8 pm game will be shifted to 7 pm, while 4 pm will be played at 5:30 pm,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, reported PTI. 

The Governing Council has also allowed the Kings XI Punjab to play four of their seven home matches in Mohali while the other three will be played in Indore. As far as the Rajasthan Royals are concerned, the GC has decided to wait for the Rajasthan High Court’s decision. The hearings in question surround the adoption of the Lodha Committee recommendations by RCA. Should everything go smoothly, Jaipur would play host to the Royals, but the IPL GC have “already finalised” Pune to take over in case of a contingency.