Expanded IPL returns to India but crowds under Covid curbs

Indian Premier League returns for its biggest season on Saturday, with a galaxy of top names and two new franchises expanding the world's richest cricket competition to 10 teams for its 15th edition. But crowds in the cricket-mad nation will, initially at least, be limited to 25 percent capacity with group games restricted to four venues, one in Pune and three in Mumbai. The venues for the three playoff matches and the May 29 final are yet to be announced.

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A new chapter of the much storied Indian Premier League begins on Saturday, with two new teams making the upcoming 15th edition a 10-team affair. In this new beginning, a few IPL legends will not be a part of the world's most popular cricket league for different reasons. Whatever be the reasons for

International T20 greats such as Australia's David Warner and England's Jos Buttler will be back for two months of high-octane cricket, but fellow Englishman Ben Stokes and West Indies veteran big-hitter Chris Gayle are big names who will be missing. The teams will be divided into two groups of five, based on their previous IPL records, for a 70-match regular season that promises to be the first completed entirely in India since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic. "This season is going to be with crowds and we are hoping to have full capacity soon," Arun Dhumal, treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told AFP.

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