The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) will begin in the month of April.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is that the government has decided to allow entry of 50% fans in the stadium for IPL and other sporting events in the country.

The news should be welcomed by the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI). IPL fans as IPL 2020 in UAE was played without the fans in the stadiums.

As per the latest set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Sports Ministry, 50 per cent attendance at stadia has been permitted along with the stipulation of a COVID-19 task force being set up by tournament organizing committees and in the BCCI’s case IPL Governing Council.

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The spectators at the sporting event would be in accordance with the guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs video its letter No. 40-3/2020-DM-I (A); dated 25th November 2020 [Para 9 clause (v}) or as amended from time to time.

  • For outdoor events, spectators will be allowed up to a maximum of 50% of the total capacity of the stadium
  • CCTV monitoring should be planned for events to detect over-crowding at entry & exit gates and seating arena.
  • Some of the IPL franchises with a settled team like Mumbai Indians will be happy with the conduct of mini-auctions.

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But at the same time, teams like Chennai Super Kings which were looking to rebuild their squad after IPL 2020 debacle would be disappointed with the development.

Once BCCI and IPL Governing Council formally approve the date of Mini-Auctions. The franchises will start the process of retaining or releasing the players from their squads.

Some of the players who may not be retained by the IPL franchises include the likes of Glenn Maxwell (KXIP), Kedar Jadhav (CSK), Dinesh Karthik (KKR), Jaydev Unadkat (RR), Imran Tahir (CSK), Kuldeep Yadav (KKR), Sheldon Cottrell (KXIP) and few others.

Source: InsideSport