The BCCI and IPL Governing Council on Friday confirmed the dates of the upcoming IPL 2022 and also introduced a new format under which the ten-team tournament will go on. The IPL 2022 will be held in Mumbai, Pune and a total of 70 matches will be played in the tournament. The IPL 2022 will kickstart from 26th March 2022 and the final will be played on 29th May 2022. A total of 70 league matches will be played across four international standard venues in Mumbai and Pune. However, the venue for the playoff matches has not been decided yet.
As per the IPL media advisory, 20 matches will be played in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, 15 matches at Brabourne Stadium, 20 matches at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium, and finally 15 matches at Pune's MCA International Stadium. Notable, the BCCI and IPL Governing Council has clarified that the decision to hold 70 matches in Maharashtra was taken keeping the secure bio-bubble in mind. As per the official release, IPL 2022 will be played in a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel which is considered as a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and the League/matches.
It is pertinent to mention here that IPL 2022 will be a much bigger tournament as compared to the past due to the inclusion of two new franchises i.e. Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Therefore, IPL 2022 new format has been decided by the BCCI and the Governing Council.
IPL 2022 format & group explained
Fans who are finding it difficult to understand how the IPL 2022 format has been changed or what is IPL 2022 new format can read it further:
Also Read: IPL 2022 to begin on March 26; 70 matches across 4 venues with teams divided in two groups
The ten teams of the IPL 2022 have been divided into two groups i.e. A & B. The ten teams have been assigned in two virtual groups based on the number of IPL Championships won followed by the number of Final matches played by the respective teams. The 10 teams will play a total of 14 league matches (7 home matches and 7 away matches) totalling to 70 league matches, followed by the 4 playoff matches. Each team will play 5 teams twice and the remaining 4 teams only once (2 only home and 2 only away).
So, now fans who are still confused which team will play two matches and which team will play one can read further:
The aforementioned table depicts the virtual groups of the ten franchises i.e. in Group A and Group B. Now, as per IPL 2022 new format, teams in the same group will play two matches against each other. Also, Each team will play twice with the team in the same row in the second group. Still, confused regarding IPL 2022 new format? Let's understand it by example:
For example, Mumbai Indians will play 2 matches against KKR, RR, DC, LSG. Also, the Mumbai Indians will play two matches against Chennai Super Kings as the MS Dhoni-led side is adjacent to MI in the row. However, MI will play only 1 match will rest of the team in Group B i.e. SRH, RCB, GT, PBKS.
It is pertinent to mention here that the IPL 2022 new format was followed in the 2011 edition when IPL had two new teams in Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.