IPL on Friday announced the new format and venues of IPL 2022. Recently, the IPL Mega auction was held ahead of the 15th edition of the tournament. All teams tried their best to make their teams stronger than the others. Since the season will feature 2 new franchises, the excitement is all the way more. IPL is the most followed Twenty20 cricket league globally. Also, the tournament has a new title sponsor, TATA, this year. Because of the covid-19 scenario, the need to maintain bio-bubbles, and 10 franchises contesting, there will be a new format followed. Let us check the IPL 2022 New Format, Schedule, and Venues. Also, how will the IPL be played in 2022 with 10 teams?
IPL 2022 New Format
Virtual Groups
Since there are 10 teams competing this season, the matches will be played in a new format. However, this is not the first time this format will be used. Earlier in 2011, 10 teams had contested in the tournament, the same format was followed. So, the 10 teams have been placed in “virtual” groups of 5 teams each. The groups have been made on the basis of past performances. Along with the number of titles the team has won, the times they’ve played the finals is also a criterion. Each team will play a total of 14 matches. 8 of the 14 matches will be against the 4 teams in the same group itself. While the team will also play 2 matches with the team correspondent to it in the other group. One match each will be played against the remaining 4 teams of the other group.
For instance, Mumbai Indian leads Group A. It will play 2 matches each against KKR, RR, DC, and LSG since they belong to the same group as MI. Moreover, MI will play 2 matches against CSK as well because CSK leads Group B. Thus, CSK is at Mumbai Indian’s level vertically. MI will play once against the other teams in Group B, namely-SRH, RCB, PBKS, and GT.
| Group A [Titles/ Finals] | Group B [Titles/Finals] | ||
| 1 | Mumbai Indians [5/6] | 2 | Chennai Super Kings [4/9] |
| 3 | Kolkata Knight Riders [2/3] | 4 | Sunrisers Hyderabad [1/2] |
| 5 | Rajasthan Royals [1/1] | 6 | Royal Challengers Bangalore [0/3] |
| 7 | Delhi Capitals [0/1] | 8 | Punjab Kings [0/1] |
| 9 | Lucknow Super Giants [0/0] | 10 | Gujarat Titans [0/0] |
Also read: 10 Unknown Facts About IPL Which Nobody Knows
Venues
This year there will be no home-and-away format. Since the IPL management has decided of conducting the matches on only 4 venues. The matches will be played in 2 cities: Mumbai and Pune. This decision has been made to limit the traveling since the tournament will be played in a bio-secure environment looking at the Covid-19 scenario. To avoid frequent air travel the tournament will be played at a single hub. A total of 70 league matches will be played at the 4 venues. However, the venue for the playoffs hasn’t been finalized yet. All 10 teams will play 4 matches each in Wankhede and DY Patil Stadium. While 3 matches each will be played in Brabourne Stadium and MCA International Stadium.
| Venue | Number of Matches |
| Wankhede Stadium- Mumbai | 20 matches |
| DY Patil Stadium- Mumbai | 20 matches |
| Brabourne Stadium [CCI]- Mumbai | 15 matches |
| MCA International Stadium- Pune | 15 matches |
Schedule
The IPL will begin on 26th March 2022. However, the full schedule has not been announced yet. A total of 70 league matches and playoffs will be played. The final of the 15th edition will be played on May 29. Certainly, the IPL will not follow the guideline that has mentioned that a 2-week gap is mandatory between an international tournament and IPL.
