The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule of the first 21 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and the schedule for the remaining matches will be announced after the release of the general election schedule. The IPL Governing Council is facing the challenge of conducting the tournament in a home and away format due to increased logistical issues due to the elections.

However, IPL Governing Council Chairman, Arun Dhumal is confident of conducting the entire tournament without any hassles like in the general election year 2019. Recently, Dhumal revealed that they are planning to finish the tournament by May 25 or 26 and hence they will have to increase the number of double headers this season.

We are planning to end IPL by 25th or 26th May- Arun Dhumal

Speaking to Sportstar, Arun Dhumal said, “The challenge this time is that we are starting the T20 World Cup in the first week of June, and we are planning to finish the tournament by May 25 or May 26. Because after this all the teams will have to go to America and this is a completely different area.”

He further said, “There may be a situation where we will have to keep a slight margin keeping in mind the election schedule. We may have to extend the double-header, but we will be able to give better clarity on this after the elections are over.”

Speaking further about the fatigue of the players during the tournament due to more double headers this time, Dhumal ensured that the schedule will be prepared keeping the players’ comfort in mind. Dhumal further said, “We have double-headers in the IPL, so we are confident of coming up with a good schedule where they will get some good rest in between and enough time to play their matches at different venues. “