The biggest cricketing carnival has reached to the Indian shores. It will arrive in India on March 23 through the beaches of Chennai. Yeah, the Indian Premier League is about to get going and everyone’s excitement is sky high for its 12th edition. The opening game is scheduled between defending champion Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule of the league matches. Despite the Lok Sabha Election dates, BCCI stuck to the home and away basis fixtures for this season. Earlier, the rumors were suggesting that BCCI can opt for neutral venues for IPL 2019 keeping the security concern in mind.
Also Read: BCCI announces the fixture of IPL league matches
Meanwhile, Chennai will host all the league matches of CSK this year. Last year, BCCI shift the home matches of Chennai to Pune after just one game. The game between KKR and CSK witnessed a great heat and a shoe was thrown in the playing area. After several years, Chepauk will host all the Chennai Super Kings matches. Chennai is also in line to host the final of this season on May 12.
It was established in 1916 and is named after former BCCI President MA Chidambaram, and was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated to the all the IPL franchises that the 33,500-seating capacity MA Chidambaram Stadium will also host the finals of the IPL 2019 on May 12. “We have spoken to the local administration with all the centers and they have assured all support,” a board official was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
The MA Chidambaram is the third oldest cricket ground in India. Kolkata’s Eden Garden and Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla are the other two oldest stadiums in India.
Also Read: Who will be the X factor of CSK in IPL 2019?
BCCI tried to ensure that the league stages of all the teams in their particular cities are over by the time elections are held in those cities. Also, they kept Vishakhapatnam as a backup option if the situation to shift the matches arise.
Like Kolkata Knight Riders will play its last home match on April 28, much before the city heads for the polls. In Mumbai, the home of Mumbai Indians heads to elections on April 29, and as a result, there aren’t any matches in the city in between April 6 and May 2.
“In some centers, we have ensured that there are no matches closer to the election date. And we have done these adjustments accordingly. These are the adjustments we had to ensure there aren’t much of logistical issues,” one of the board officials said in reference to Mumbai.
