Maharashtra is likely to allow a 25 percent capacity crowd for the IPL 2023. The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League will have 70 matches in total and they will be played in Mumbai and Pune across four stadiums to avoid air traveling in order to avoid the risk of the spread of COVID-19.
Maharashtra is likely to allow a 25 percent capacity crowd for the IPL 2023
While Mumbai will be hosting 55 games and Pune will have 15 games. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray, on Sunday (February 27), met MCA officials and agreed to allow 25 percent of crowds at the venues.
Notably, there has been a steep decline in COVID cases lately – only two deaths reported in Mumbai in the last 24 hours and less than 1000 new cases, lowest since 2020. Encouraged by the same, the government allowed crowd entrance.
“Yes, we have come to full circle,” Arun Singh Dhumal, the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was quoted by Cricbuzz at the end of the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
“It was in Dharamsala where the Covid threat to Indian cricket started in 2020. It halted the game there. Subsequently, the matches in Lucknow and Kolkata also got called off due to the Coronavirus threat. We are glad that cricket with crowds got revived from Dharamshala itself. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the crowds for both the games. I hope there is no stopping Indian cricket from here,” the BCCI treasurer further told the publication.
Notably, the next Team India match, the first match of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka starting March 3 in Mohali, which could also be Virat Kohli’s 100th Test match, but the former India skipper would not be able to play in front of a crowd at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium.
However, the second Test in Bangalore will have spectators at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has confirmed that 50 percent crowds – about 15,000 — will be allowed for the March 13-17 Test.
