The Indian Premier League 2019 will be held in India and it was proposed that the tournament will begin from March 23, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court of India appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) met in New Delhi to discuss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 venues and window and the decision was taken after preliminary discussions.

Earlier, there were some doubts about India hosting the tournament due to the general elections which will be held in April and May this year.

The statement from BCCI’s Committee of Administrators stated -

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Tuesday met in New Delhi to discuss the VIVO IPL 2019 venues and window.

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.

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

The COA will then have detailed discussion with all the Stakeholders before releasing the VIVO IPL 2019 Schedule. “

IPL is the biggest money spinner for the Indian cricket board, with official broadcaster Star Sports shelling out a whopping Rs 16,347.50 crore ($2.55 billion) to acquire the global media rights of the tournament for a period of 5 years in September 2017.

Chennai Super Kings won the tournament in 2018, with the franchise making a comeback to the league after serving a two-year ban. The tournament attracts huge number of fans from across the country both to the stadiums as well as to the TV screens.

First Published: Jan 08, 2019 16:13 IST