The 2nd leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which will follow the games in the UAE will be played completely in India, with the first game at Ranchi between former champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
A total of 40 games will be played in India with final four games (the 2 Qualifiers, the Eliminator and the Final) being split between Chennai and Mumbai. The first game in India will be played on May 2nd, while the final is scheduled to be held on June 1st in Mumbai.
It was earlier reported that the 7th edition of the IPL would be split across India, Bangladesh and the UAE due to the elections being held at around the same time, but the IPL GC has decided against hosting a part of the tournament in Bangladesh.
RCA-BCCI in bitter battle over Rajasthan Royals' Ahmedabad matches
Mumbai: The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were on Friday locked in a bitter battle after four home matches of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) were shifted to Ahmedabad. This comes a day after the BCCI announced the fixtures for 36 matches for the IPL home-leg from May 2.
While RCA claimed that they were not consulted, BCCI said the Rajasthan Royals had indicated to the board that they would be happy to play their home matches in Ahmedabad to avoid any uncertainty due to the general elections.
RCA shot-off a letter to Sunil Gavaskar, interim BCCI president for IPL, saying they had the no-objection certificate from the state government to host the matches. "We have done all the necessary preparation to conduct these matches and sought permission from the Government of Rajasthan for the same. The Government of Rajasthan has no objection for conduction of these matches in May 2014 as Elections are to be held on 17th and 24th April ... We are surprised how governing council of IPL has shifted our home matches to Ahmadabad without even asking us," said RCA officiating secretary K.K. Sharma.
"We shall suffer losses for the perpetration made as well as people of Rajasthan shall lose their right to see the home team perform in front of them. We would request you to kindly reschedule the itinerary and give us the due home matches as earlier. Thanking you in anticipation," the letter added
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said the board has worked with various franchises and stakeholders to get confirmations to host matches in the cities. "The Rajasthan Royals have indicated to the BCCI that they are happy to play their four home matches of the India leg of the 2014 season, at Ahmedabad, to avoid any uncertainty to their home matches. KXIP (Kings XI Punjab) and CSK (Chennai Super Kings) will be playing some of their home matches outside Mohali and Chennai, respectively, due to the non-availability of their home venue, for a large portion of May 2014. IPL will continue to look at as many venues as possible to play the tournament in the forthcoming seasons," Patel said in a statement.
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who this year was suspended for life by the BCCI, is likely to win the RCA election for the post of president but the Supreme Court has delayed the announcement of the poll results.
Fit-again Mitchell Johnson available for Kings XI from Day 1
Mitchell Johnson has been cleared to resume playing duties after recovering from an infection in his right leg that ruled him out of the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. Johnson's next playing commitment is with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. The first leg of the T20 tournament starts in the UAE next Wednesday, April 16.
According to Cricket Australia, Johnson has been declared fit to play. Johnson's toe infection had spread to his leg. The left-arm pacer, who did a fine job for Mumbai Indians last season, was picked up by Kings XI in the IPL auctions in February.
Johnson got the infection from a cut suffered during Australia's series-clinching third Test triumph over South Africa in Cape Town. His place in the Australian T20 squad was filled by 32-year-old Doug Bollinger. The Aussies failed to qualify for the World Twenty20 semifinals.
Johnson was managed by a team of medical specialists. He has a more than a million-dollar (Rs 6.5 crore) deal with the Punjab team. Now Johnson has to justify this price tag for his new IPL team.
"I have often said I really do enjoy the challenges of Indian wickets. I find that you can still get good bounce and pace out of them and I noticed that during the last IPL last year. It wasn't all just for the batsmen. I'm really excited playing on those wickets in India again and try and be intimidating as I have been in the last six months or so," Johnson has said.
