CRICKET POLL

The Indian Premier League 2025 will resume this week on Saturday (May 17) with a clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, the BCCI confirmed on Monday (May 12). A total of 17 matches will be held across six venues with the final scheduled to be played on June 3. The venues for the playoff matches will be revealed later.

In a statement, the board confirmed that they decided to proceed with the tournament 'after extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders.'

Revised schedule

The revised schedule includes only two double headers, both on Sundays. Qualifier 1 and Eliminator are scheduled to be played on May 29 and 30 respectively. The second qualifier will be played on June 1.

While there were reports that the rest of the tournament could be completed in the three southern venues - Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru - the board has zeroed in on Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai and Ahmedabad instead, apart from Bengaluru. The likes of Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings will not get to play their remaining home games at their designated home venues. Delhi will host the final home match of CSK against RR on May 20 as well as SRH's last home game against KKR on May 25. Neither of these teams is in contention for a playoff spot.

It's also worth noting that the abandoned game between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals on May 8 will be replayed in Jaipur on May 24. Apart from that fixture, PBKS will also play their other two games in Jaipur as well with Mullanpur not amongst the venues announced for the resumption. Mumbai Indians, in contention for a playoff spot, will get to play their final home game at the Wankhede against Delhi Capitals on May 21.

Once that game in Dharamsala got called off due to the border tensions between India and Pakistan, the board opted to suspend the tournament for a week. Several overseas players have already left the country, and it remains to be seen how many of them return for the tournament, especially with international commitments on the horizon. There will be focus on the Test stars of Australia and South Africa in particular, with the World Test Championship Final scheduled to begin on June 11, which is barely a week after the IPL final gets over.