IPL to start on March 26, around 40% crowd to be allowed in Maharashtra stadiums
New Delhi, Feb 24: The 10-team Indian Premier League will start in Mumbai on March 26 and end on May 29 with around 40 percent crowd being allowed at the start of the tournament.
"The IPL will start on Saturday, March 26," IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI after the governing council meeting on Thursday.
With two new teams Lucknow Supergiants and Gujarat Titans added to the roster, there will be 74 matches with 70 of them being played at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium along with Navi Mumbai's DY Patil ground and Gahunje Stadium in Pune.
As many as 20 games each will be held at Wankhede and DY Patil, while 15 each will be hosted at Brabourne and Gahunje Stadium.
"Spectators will be allowed as per guidelines set by the Maharashtra government and to start with, it will be 40 percent. If the COVID situation remains under control and cases decline, it might be full house at the business end," a source said.
There has been no decision with regards to play-offs but Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium is likely to host the final.
It is learnt that 55 matches will be played in Mumbai, while 15 will be played in Pune.
"Each team will play same number of games at each of the stadiums. Mumbai Indians will play four games at Wankhede Stadium. We are having as many as 12 double headers and it was decided that Saturday start (march 26) allows us to host a double header on Sunday," an IPL source added.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had earlier said that plan is to hold IPL in India and likewise BCCI were ready in earnest to host it in the country. The second option was South Africa ths time but it was a distant option.
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Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
