IPL 2019 to be held in India, will begin from March 23

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 will be held in India despite a speculated clash of dates with the Lok Sabha elections. To avoid such a situation, the glitzy event will start earlier than usual, from March 23, the Supreme Court of India appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) announced on Tuesday. The dates were announced after the two-member CoA,  comprising chairman Vinod Rai and former women's captain Diana Edulji, met in the national capital to discuss the venues and window for the league.      

"Based on the preliminary discussions with the appropriate central and state agencies/authorities, it was decided that the 12th edition of the world's most popular and competitive T20 tournament will be scheduled to be played in India," reads a statement issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).     

"It is proposed that the IPL 2019 will commence on March 23, 2019. The detailed schedule will be finalised in consultation with the appropriate authorities," it added.

"The COA will have detailed discussion with all the stakeholders before releasing the IPL 2019 Schedule," the BCCI said in the statement.    

The last time the IPL got started in March was 2010. After that, the league has always kicked off in the first half of April and ended in late May. The early start this year is because of the ODI World Cup in England which will get underway from May 30.   

There has to be a 15-day gap between the end of the IPL and India's international engagements as per the new BCCI constitution. The IPL has been played outside India twice due to general elections. The entire 2009 edition was moved to South Africa, while in 2014, some games were played in the UAE. 

With PTI Inputs