Indian Premier League is less than two months away, so the preparations are well underway for teams as they look to bolster their squad during this week’s auction. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has always been confident about staging the tournament in India. According to the latest report from InsideSport, BCCI is also looking forward to have fans in the stadium during the two-month-long tournament.
After more than 12 months, BCCI hosted an international match last week as England began the four-match test series in Chennai. The governing body of Indian cricket also welcomed fans to Chepauk at 50% capacity of the stadium during the second test match over the last weekend. If the attempt to bring fans to the stadium in the next two test matches and the limited-overs series against England turns out to be successful, then IPL will not be played behind closed doors.
It remains to be seen whether BCCI is planning to have IPL as a multi-stadium event. In normal circumstances, IPL will have eight stadiums with teams playing home and away during the group stage of the tournament. IPL 2020 was played in three stadiums in UAE behind closed doors in the final third of 2020.
The last edition of IPL did manage to provide BCCI significant broadcast revenue. However, the matchday revenue took a significant hit. If games are played at even 50% capacity, then there will be significant revenue from more than 50 games in the tournament.
Moreover, games in front of fans become even more competitive due to the support from the home crowd.BCCI is likely to finalise the plans about staging the tournament once the mini-auction is concluded on February 18.