IPL 7: No home matches for RR, Ahmedabad gets the nod

The IPL will be coming home in May. The BCCI has announced that the last 40 games of the season, including the four playoff games, will be played in India starting Friday, 2 May. All the franchises will play nine matches each in India. Though the traditional home and away format will not be in place because of the national elections, the BCCI said five of the eight teams will p lay at least four matches in their home stadiums. “Chennai Super Kings will play two matches at Ranchi, while Kings XI Punjab will play two games at Cuttack. Rajasthan Royals will play four matches at Ahmedabad. There will be no matches on Thursday, 1 May, Friday, 16 May and Saturday, 17 May.” The board statement said. [caption id=“attachment_1464711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. BCCI[/caption] “Following on from the launch of ticket sales for the UAE leg today, I am pleased that we are now able to confirm the dates for the rest of the season, Sunil Gavaskar, the interim president of the BCCI/IPL said in a statement. “It is great news that the fans back home in India will be able to watch a large part of the Pepsi IPL 2014. Given the various challenges and the logistical complexities, we have spent a considerable amount of time in crafting a balanced schedule.” You can read the full press release below: The 2014 season of the Pepsi IPL returns to India on Friday, 2 May 2014 After discussions with the authorities in India, the BCCI is pleased to announce that a total of thirty-six regular season matches, plus the four playoffs of the Pepsi IPL 2014, will be played in India, starting Friday, 2 May 2014. Each franchise will play nine matches in India, with five of the eight teams playing at least four matches in their home stadium. Chennai Super Kings will play two matches at Ranchi, while Kings XI Punjab will play two games at Cuttack. Rajasthan Royals will play four matches at Ahmedabad. There will be no matches on Thursday, 1 May, Friday, 16 May and Saturday, 17 May. There are two changes to the UAE leg of the schedule. The evening match on 26 April in Abu Dhabi, between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, will now be designated as a home match for Kolkata Knight Riders. The match on 28 April in Dubai, between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, will be designated as a home game for Kings XI Punjab. “Following on from the launch of ticket sales for the UAE leg today, I am pleased that we are now able to confirm the dates for the rest of the season. It is great news that the fans back home in India will be able to watch a large part of the Pepsi IPL 2014. Given the various challenges and the logistical complexities, we have spent a considerable amount of time in crafting a balanced schedule,” Mr. Sunil Gavaskar, Interim President, BCCI-IPL, said. Ranjib Biswal, Chairman, IPL Governing Council, added; “We are delighted to have the season back in India at the start of May. Organising an event of this scale at multiple venues in two countries is an enormous organisational undertaking and we are very grateful to the Government of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police authorities in the various states for their support.” The detailed schedule is available on the IPL website.