IPL 2021: Last 2 league games to be played simultaneously

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In a significant development related to the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), the final two matches of the league stage would be played simultaneously. The story was confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday evening.

The last two league games of IPL 2021 would be played on October 8, at 7.30 PM (Indian Standard Time), instead of the scheduled initially 3.30 PM clash for the first game of the double-header. The two games happen to be Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Delhi Capitals (DC).

However, BCCI did not explain the reason for scheduling both the matches concurrently, as it would be the first time in IPL history to be done so. Nevertheless, as per ESPNCricinfo, the request was put in by the official broadcaster, Star Sports, as a part of its trial for IPL 2021, which would possess ten teams and is expected to have quite some double-headers.

Meanwhile, the announcement of the two new IPL sides will be confirmed on October 25, as the deadline to submit the final bid is October 10. Reports suggest that 11 bidders had bought the tender document, with BCCI setting the base price of the new sides at ₹2,000 crore, while sources have told Newsable that Ahemdabad and Lucknow are in the reckoning.

As a result, the BCCI will also be issuing the tender for the IPL media rights between 2023-27 on October 25. Currently, the rights are owned by Star Sports, worth ₹16,347.5 crore for the 2018-22 cycle.