BCCI announces schedule for first 21 matches, CSK to face RCB in IPL 2024 opener

IPL trophy (Pic: PTI)

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2024 opener in Chennai on March 22, the BCCI announced Thursday while unveiling the schedule for only the first 17 days of the popular T20 league.

The roster for the remaining matches of the IPL 2024 will be announced once the dates for the upcoming general elections are announced early next month. The first 17 days of the tournament will see 21 matches taking place.

Delhi Capitals will take on Punjab Kings on March 23 in Mohali. As per the format, 10 teams are divided into two groups of five. In the group stage, each team plays 14 games facing the other four sides in their group two times each (home and away basis, four teams in the other group once, and the remaining team two times).

That the tournament is slated to begin on March 22 was announced by the league chairman Arun Dhumal on Tuesday.

Also Read: Tendulkar plays exquisite cover drive holding bat upside down in Kashmir: Watch

The elections are expected to be held in April and May and that is the main reason why the schedule for the IPL's 17th edition has not been unveiled yet.

Speaking to PTI, Dhumal said to begin with, only the schedule of the first 15 days will be announced and the roster for the remaining games will be decided after the announcement of the general election dates.

The general elections are expected to be held in April-May. Only in 2009, the IPL, in its entirety, was held overseas (South Africa) while the 2014 edition was partially held in the UAE due to the general elections. However, in 2019, the tournament was held in India despite the elections.