The schedule for the Indian Premier League 2021 has been announced on Sunday. The IPL season will kick off on April 9 in Chennai, with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore. The final will be played on May 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The previous season’s runners-up Delhi Capitals will begin their season on April 10 against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai. The tournament will be held in six cities – Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Each team will play in four of the six designated venues during the league stage, the IPL release said.

Notably, every match will be held at a neutral venue, with no team scheduled to play in their home stadium.

Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight matches apiece during the league stages.

The knockout stages of the competition will be played entirely in Ahmedabad at the largest cricket stadium in the world.

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As part of safety measures due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the organisers have ensured that each team has to travel only thrice during the league stage.

“The VIVO 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,” the organisers further added.