New Delhi, Sep 22: The Indian Premier League (IPL) will return to its original, pre-COVID-19 home-and-away format from the 2023 season, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has conveyed to the board's affiliated state units.
The IPL has been held at only a few venues since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 as the lucrative league unfolded behind close doors across three venues in UAE -- Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
In 2021 too, the tournament was held across four venues -- Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Chennai.
However, with the pandemic under control, the cash-rich league will return to its old format in which each team plays one home and one away match.
"The next season of men's IPL will also go back to the home and away format with all ten teams playing their home matches at their designated venues," read a Ganguly's note to state units.
The note gave them a "snapshot" of the ongoing domestic season.
The BCCI is conducting a full-fledged domestic season for the first time since 2020 and all multi-day tournaments will also return to the traditional home and away format.
BCCI AGM on October 18
The board has confirmed its AGM (Annual General Meeting) will be held on October 18. According to a notification sent by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the AGM will be held in Mumbai.
Women's IPL is one of the important items on the agenda circulated to the state associations on Thursday evening.
Also on the agenda are election to the office-bearers: president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer.
Expecting Women's IPL to to start early next year
The BCCI is also working to host the inaugural edition of the much-anticipated Women's IPL early next year.
PTI had last month reported that the tournament is likely to take place in March after the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.
"The BCCI is currently working on the much-awaited Women's IPL. We are expecting to start the first season early next year," Ganguly wrote in the letter dated September 20.
The Women's IPL is expected to raise the standard of women's cricket in India.
Besides the the Women's IPL, the BCCI is also launching a girls under-15 ODI tournament.
"We are glad to introduce a girls U15 One Day tournament from this season. Women's cricket has seen phenomenal growth across the world and our national team has been performing well. This new tournament will create a pathway for our young girls to play at the national and international level," Ganguly wrote.
The inaugural women's under-15 event will be played from December 26 to January 12 across five venues -- Bangalore, Ranchi, Rajkot, Indore, Raipur, Pune.
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Jaipur, Mar 28: Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Thursday.
Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36 for 3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185 for 5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.
Parag, who was promoted to number 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score.
Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173 for 5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs.
Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match.
South African pacer Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.
"Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do from here is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game," DC skipper Rishabh Pant said.
DC were reduced to 34 for 2 in the fourth over with Burger taking two wickets in three balls in a fine display of fast bowling.
Burger, who was brought in as Impact Sub for Shimron Hetmyer, dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
DC captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat at the fall of Bhui's wicket and along with senior batter David Warner built the innings without taking too much risk. Delhi were 89 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Warner was the more aggressive one as he got the boundaries to keep DC in the hunt. The senior Australian batter fell one run short of his fifty courtesy a brilliant diving catch by Sandeep Sharma off the bowling of Avesh in the 12th over.
Warner and Pant were involved in a crucial 67-run partnership for the third wicket.
Playing in his 100th IPL match and 14 months after a horrible car crash, Pant tried to build the innings with occasional boundaries. But he got out for a 26-ball 28 as Chahal induced a faint lower edge for Sanju Samson to do the rest behind the stumps in the 14th over.
The asking rate shot up to more than 13 runs an over and DC needed 66 from the last five overs.
Stubbs kept DC in the game with two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, but in the end the Delhi side were short by 12 runs.
They needed 34 runs from the final two overs which they could not get. It was DC's second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.
Royals captain Samson struck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar before nicking a Khaleel Ahmed delivery two overs later to Pant to get out for 15.
RR were 30 for 2 by then as Mukesh had given DC their first breakthrough with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The Royals were in more trouble after wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav literally forced his captain Pant to take a review, which later proved to be successful, to dismiss Englishman Jos Buttler for an LBW decision.
Ashwin came out to bat at number five and he lofted a Kuldeep delivery for a six to help RR reach 58 for 3 at halfway stage. He gave Nortje even a harsher treatment with two sixes in the next over that yielded 15 runs.
Ashwin, however, holed out to Tristan Stubbs near the boundary ropes for a 19-ball 29.
Parag then made his presence felt, striking two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to take RR past 100 in the 15th over.