Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that everything will go on as per schedule in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. His confirmation comes just hours after the Maharashtra government announced a weekend lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. Maharashtra will enter strict weekend lockdown from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am.
Essential services and transportation including buses, trains, and taxis will be allowed. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting yesterday in view of surging COVID-19 cases.
Wankhede Stadium is set to host 10 IPL games this season from April 10-25. The first match at the Mumbai stadium is slated to be played on April 10 between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. Four franchises-Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals have set up their base in Mumbai as of now.
The fifth franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is also based in Mumbai currently, but they will soon move to Chennai to play their first match against SunRisers Hyderabad on April 11.