Last two IPL league games to be held at same time; 2 new IPL teams to be announced on October 25

 

The IPL Governing Council on Tuesday decided that the two final league stage games will start concurrently at 7:30 pm IST instead of the usual double-header with one game starting in the afternoon.

The norm till date has been one game at 3:30 pm IST followed by the evening match at 7:30 pm but the games will start at the same time in order to avoid giving an unfair advantage to any team in case the last match has an outfit that has a mathematical chance of qualification.

“In a first for the IPL, the last two league matches before the VIVO IPL 2021 play-offs will be played concurrently,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a release.

The last two games will feature the SunRisers Hyderabad and the Mumbai Indians in one and the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Capitals in the other.

“On the last day of the league stage (08.10.2021) of the ongoing season, instead of having one afternoon match and one evening match, two matches (SRH v MI and RCB v DC) will be played simultaneously at 7.30 pm IST (6 pm GST).”

It was also decided that the IPL Media Rights tender for the cycle 2023-2027 would be released immediately after the appointment of two new IPL teams, which is scheduled to be announced on Oct. 25.

It is understood that Sony and Zee, which have recently gone into a merger, are expected to put up a handsome bid along with current rights holders Star Sports.