IPL playoffs to be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad with full-capacity crowds

The IPL playoffs will be played in front of full capacity crowds in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, the BCCI has confirmed. Eden Gardens will host Qualifier 1 on May 24 followed by the Eliminator the next day. After a day's break, the Narendra Modi Stadium will play host to Qualifier 2 on May 27. The final will be held at the same venue on May 29.

This will be the first time in two years that the IPL will witness full capacity crowds, as the previous two seasons were either played in front of empty grounds or had limited capacity due the Covid-19 pandemic. For the 2022 season, during the league phase, which is being played solely at four venues in Maharashtra, initially the IPL had allowed 25% crowds. Later that was increased to 50% as the general Covid-19 situation in India has been relatively stable. The four grounds that have been used so far are the Wankhede Stadium and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Both Kolkata and Ahmedabad had recently played host to the limited-overs series between India and West Indies, in February. While the ODI leg of that series was held in Ahmedabad behind closed doors, the T20I matches in Kolkata had spectators allowed in at 75% stadium capacity.

"As far as the men's IPL knockout stage matches are concerned, it would be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, with 100% attendance allowed for the matches to be played after the league stage finishes on May 22," Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, said.

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, also confirmed to ANI that the three-team Women's T20 Challenge will be held in Pune*, with the group matches to be held on May 23, 24 and 26, and the final on May 28.