IPL 2024 to Jostle with General Elections?

It seems that not even the upcoming Indian General Elections can place a roadblock in the way of the long-running Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. The projected 2024 event and 17th edition of the money-spinning championship is likely to begin on March 22, according to sources from the BCCI. The election dates will be announced around the same time, but the cricket governing body has confirmed that India’s biggest cricket fest will unfold in India itself.

Addressing the issue and likelihood of coinciding dates, a BCCI spokesperson added, “If any state does not want to host the (scheduled) match at that time, with any justified reason, the match could be shifted to another venue.” And with a total of 12 venues across the country – ranging from Mohali to Chennai - there is no dearth of options for a last-minute change.

Following the widely-covered IPL auction which took place at Dubai in December, 2023, all competing 10 teams have fine-tuned their squads. The auction made even bigger headlines this time around for breaking the most expensive player record, not once, but two times.

Indeed, Aussie Mitchell Starc became the tournament’s most costly player with the Kolkata Knight Riders shelling out Rs. 24.75 Crore (USD 2.9 Million) for the coveted speedster. Plus, the recent auction recorded a 57 per cent increase from 2022 in viewership with 22.8 million people tuning into the proceedings.

In what is very likely to be Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper M. S. Dhoni’s last season, he will be hoping to end on a high by defending his team’s crown. Adding to the optimism is the fact that the former Team India captain has recovered from a knee injury and is undertaking rehab and training programmes. CSK has ensnared the IPL Cup five times so far, being trailed by the competitive Mumbai Indians with four trophies in the kitty. It looks like the latter team’s new skipper Hardik Pandya has everything to play for come March 22.