IPL 2021 Introduction

After the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League ended with Mumbai Indians clinching their title for the record fifth time against Delhi Capitals, the Board of Cricket Control in India have decided to conduct the IPL 2021 in April-May with the auction to be held on February 18. According to the emerging reports in media and closed quarters of BCCI, the glamorous and cash-rich league will be held in India itself. Moreover, allowing fans back into the stadium is also going on with the government. There is every reason for a fan to be happy with respect to the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League.

IPL 2021 Auction:

The process of squad building from various franchises is all set to begin on February 18 when the players go under the hammer. The auction will be held in Chennai after the trade window closed recently. Though all the teams have retained their star players and core team, they are left with holes to fill. The teams will focus on fill the round hole with a round hole rather than a square hole. Kings XI Punjab have the biggest purse whereas Royal Challengers  Bangalore have 9 spots to fill. It remains interesting to see how the teams fare in the auction.

The teams have released the star attractions like Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris and a star batsman like Steve Smith. Also, Indian allrounders like Shivam Dube and Krishnappa Gowtham are back in the auction pool. However, with only a few teams to vie for these players, the players can become the next million-dollar babies of the cash-rich league. The veteran players like Harbhajan Singh and Parthiv Patel have announced their retirement from all formats of cricket ahead of the auction. Also, the teams will be gearing up to sign the youngsters who fared well in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament (SMAT).

IPL 2021 Venue:

BCCI and organizers are yet to decide on the venue, it is expected to be conducted inside India itself. However, Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates Cricket Board for the smoother conduction of the tournament. Sharjah, Abudhabi and Dubai were the venues for the previous edition of the tournament. It remains interesting to see where do the negotiations with the sports ministry ends up. It is always a difficult job to conduct the league outside India. Previously, on three different occasions, the tournament was held outside the country. However, in 2020, it was held in a full-fledged manner.

IPL 2021 Star attraction

As that in previous editions, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will remain as the important star attractions. Following them will be the likes of K Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, the architect of the test win in Gabba- Rishabh Pant, Tangarasu Natarajan will remain as the plates to watch out for. The tournament will serve as an audition stage for the players like Devdutt Padikkal, Shubhman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2021.

IPL 2021 Sponsorship

As there was a huge Anti-China sentiment after the pandemic had spread, VIVO had withdrawn themselves from sponsorship and was given to Dream 11, a fantasy gaming platform. However, the situation is unlikely to change as IPL is still without an official sponsor. According to the recent reports from BCCI, a fresh tender will be called for the title sponsorship.