After the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot has changed regarding the interaction between people and the allowance of crowds. After initial lockdown days, as the world reopened after the pandemic, the games, like cricket, football, rugby and even Olympics were held remotely without any spectators. However, as the pandemic subsided, bit by bit, the crowds were allowed in, first only 25%, and then gradually increasing it to 100% in some countries. India hosted a number of cricket matches both without spectators and with 50% or less capacity of spectators. As Covid-19 is largely becoming almost extinct in India, IPL playoffs have been allowed with full crowd.
IPL 2022 started remotely on 26th March, with no spectators and only broadcasts. But gradually, from 6th April onwards, Maharashtra Cricket Association allowed 50% of the crowd in IPL matches. This boosted up the revenue of IPL 2022, which is by far the highest revenue earning league in the world. Revenue was running quite low when the tournament started, but even allowing 50% of the crowd was enough to meet the expenditure of IPL matches, and also gain profit at the same time.
Now, as the Covid-19 is by far absent almost throughout India, the BCCI is looking for options of allowing 100% crowd for more spectators. The playoffs are expected to be held with 100% crowd in Kolkata and Ahmedabad. The news has spread like wildfire, drawing craze among the cricket fans, causing the tickets to be booked at record speed.
The Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator will be held in Kolkata, on 24th and 25th May respectively. The Qualifier 2 and the Final will be played in Ahmedabad on 27th May and 29th May respectively. This year, 10 teams are fighting out for 4 spots in the playoffs, creating more challenges. The addition of Lucknow and Gujarat this year has gone well with the crowd. Currently no team has qualified yet, with only Mumbai Indians are out of question for the playoffs, and the rest 9 teams are in the hunt. Are you all ready to find out the new champions of IPL?
Written by – Himadri Paul