IPL 2021 to begin on April 9, Mumbai Indians to face RCB in opener; no crowds allowed in 6 venues: BCCI

Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium will host the playoffs as well as the May 30 final, with Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata being the other venues

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will begin, sans crowd, on April 9 in Chennai with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

After holding the last edition in the UAE due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the high-profile domestic T20 tournament will return to India and will be played across six venues that will share 56 league matches.

While Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata will host 10 matches each, Ahmedabad and Delhi will share eight games each.

Ahmedabad will also hold all three play-off matches and the final on May 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.

“The IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said in a statement on Sunday.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli, in the first match.

The tournament's eight teams will play all their matches at neutral venues.

"The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk," Shah said.

"After hosting the tournament safely and successfully in the UAE last year... the BCCI is confident of hosting the IPL at home with health and safety of players and all people involved being paramount," he added.

Smartphone maker Vivo returned as title sponsor of the league after pulling out of last year's tournament amid a backlash against Chinese firms in India.

South African Chris Morris became IPL's most expensive buy in the players' auction last month after Rajasthan Royals bought him for a staggering $2.22 million.

Check the full schedule here.

(With PTI inputs)