The final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 will start at 8 PM as per the Indian Standard Time (IST). According to reports, the reason behind the alteration could be the concerted cultural closing ceremony. The final will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, in Ahmedabad next Sunday, May 29.
A Cricbuzz report claims the BCCI and IPL authorities have scheduled the closing ceremony, which will consist of several Bollywood celebrities performing. The ceremony is time-tabled to start at 6:30 PM IST and will run for 50 minutes. The toss will be held at 7:30 PM IST and the match will start at 8:00 PM IST, 30 minutes after the toss.
In addition, the IPL matches used to start at 8:00 PM IST until the 2017 season. But on Star Sports’ persistence, the authorities changed it to 7:30 PM IST.
IPL opening and closing ceremonies were suspended for the last few seasons
In its first decade, there were routine opening and closing ceremonies in the IPL with Bollywood celebrities. Although, it was suspended for three years under the outcome of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) decree, which, the existing management obeyed for the first two years.
This year too, there was no opening ceremony on March 26, the day IPL started. The decision of assembling the closing ceremony arose later from the Apex Council meeting.
Besides, the IPL 2022 is now near its end as the last league stage game will be played on the upcoming Sunday, May 22. Qualifier 1 and Eliminator will be played at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on May 24 and 25 respectively. Qualifier 2 and the final will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, in Ahmedabad on May 27 and 29 correspondingly.
Written by Prachi Pisal
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