There was some good news for Indian cricket team fans as wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant played his first full game since his car accident back in 2022. Pant was on a journey to recovery and on Tuesday, he played in a warm-up game in Alur near Bengaluru since his near-fatal accident. It was a huge improvement for the cricketer who is expected to lead Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. However, according to a report by Cricbuzz, Pant will be playing as a specialist batter and will not be keeping wickets as the complete rehabilitation might not be completed in time.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Indian Premier League is set to begin on March 22 and will be held entirely in the country despite the coinciding general elections, league chairman Arun Dhumal told PTI.

The elections are expected to be held in April and May and that is the main reason why the schedule for the IPL’s 17th edition has not been unveiled yet.

Speaking to PTI, Dhumal said to begin with, only the schedule of the first 15 days will be announced and the roster for the remaining games will be decided after the announcement of the general election dates.

The dates of the Lok Sabha polls are expected to be announced early next month.

“We are looking at a March 22 start for the tournament. We are working closely with the government agencies and we will first release the initial schedule. The entire tournament will be held in India,” said Dhumal.

Only in 2009, the IPL, in its entirety, was held overseas (South Africa) while the 2014 edition was partially held in the UAE due to the general elections.

However, in 2019, the tournament was held in India despite the elections.

Considering the T20 World Cup begins within days of the cash-rich league’s conclusion, the final is likely to be held on May 26.

India will play their opening World Cup fixture against Ireland in New York on June 5 while the ICC showpiece begins with the USA and Canada clash on June 1.

As is the norm, the IPL opener will be played between the last year’s finalists, the winners Chennai Super Kings in this case and runners-up Gujarat Titans.

The players’ auction for the 2024 season was held in December last year and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the league after being bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore. 

(With PTI inputs)

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