At the same time, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that there will be more viewers as the tournament goes, compared to the inaugural match attendance.

According to a BCCI official, stadiums will have more fans in the future than during the early games.

“At least, that’s how we understand it.” The stadiums will be packed with more people in the future than they were during the first few games. With the number of Covid cases decreasing by the day, we hope to see more people in the stands,” remarked a BCCI office-bearer, as reported by Cricbuzz.

The cash-rich event will no longer be held in the United Arab Emirates after two seasons (UAE).

However, it was believed in January that the tournament could be held in South Africa, and there were conversations between the BCCI and Cricket South Africa (CSA) about it, before all such suspicions were put to rest when the IPL 2022 official schedule was released earlier this month.

With the addition of two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, respectively – the IPL will feature 70 matches and a total of ten teams. This time around, the defending champions CSK will be aiming for a record-tying fifth IPL title.

With all of the teams having assembled their rosters at the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru last month, it will be intriguing to see which club emerges victorious would go on to have a memorable season.