The Board of Control of Cricket (BCCI) in India is in the process of changing the schedule of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season after taking into consideration the dates of the 2024 Lok Sabha Election.

The Indian Cricket Board had announced the IPL schedule for the first two weeks (March 22 to April 7) on February 22. The altered schedule of the remainder of the tournament is being reworked by the BCCI to avoid clashes with the polling dates. Now that the Election Commission of India has announced the 2024 General Elections schedule, the IPL Governing Council is reworking its first draft of the second phase of the lucrative T20 league. "The Election Commission of India announced the schedule of General Elections so we now know the exact dates. The work is underway on the remainder fixtures and we are reworking some fixtures from the first draft to avoid clashes with polling dates," IPL Governing Council chairman Arun Dhumal told News18 CricketNext. Dhumal also refuted the possibility of IPL moving out of India due to General Elections. "No question of that. The entire IPL will be played in India only. We will ensure to conduct the tournament seamlessly," said Dhumal.

CSK vs RCB in blockbuster opener

The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League will open with a blockbuster clash between bitter rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 22, Friday. The southern derby will be played at the iconic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, two of the biggest superstars in modern-day cricket, will go head-to-head in the inaugural match of the 2024 season. Defending champions CSK is the joint-most successful franchise in IPL history with five titles. RCB, meanwhile, will look to end their title drought this season under the captaincy of Faf du Plessis.