The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will begin on April 9 in Chennai with the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Banglore, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Sunday. The tournament will conclude at the newly-built Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 30. All games will be played in India.

Following are the guidelines BCCI has announced ahead of IPL 2021:

1. All teams will play at four out of six venues– Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata– during the league stage.

2. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host 8 matches each.

Also read: IPL 2021 to be played from April 9 to May 30, check full schedule

3. All matches will be played at neutral venues and no team will play at their home venue.

4. There will be a total of 11 double headers where six teams will play three afternoon matches and two teams will play two afternoon matches.

5. The afternoon matches will start at 3.30 pm IST start while the evening games will have a 7.30 pm IST start.

6. Every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. IPL will be played behind closed doors, to begin with, and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament.