IPL 2018: Play-offs and final to start at 7 PM
2018 Indian Premier League will see the play-offs, including the final, being held an hour earlier after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) gave their nod. Earlier, the IPL Governing Council led by Rajeev Shukla had approved the move citing fans will benefit from the decision as they can go home early. The matches have been shifted to 7 PM rather than the usual time.
Everybody on the same boat except Anirudh Chaudhry
The decision to shift the games an hour earlier was proposed by IPL's Chief Operating Officer Hemang Amin. It was then approved by Rajeev Shukla besides two BCCI office bearers and then the CoA. BCCI acting treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry did not agree with the move, claiming that the decision was unnecessary. The CoA, however, did not agree with Anirudh's comments.
What Chaudhry claimed and CoA's reply on the same
Chaudhry claimed that prior to IPL, there was a meeting where this move was discussed but nothing happened after that. He added that this decision now has been made all of a sudden as he saw it in the media. In reply, Vinod Rai stated that matches were scheduled at 8 PM to accommodate double-headers and they don't want to stretch play-offs past midnight.
IPL Governing Council wanted the same prior to tournament itself
The IPL Governing Council wanted 7 PM kick-offs for the 11th edition right from the beginning. IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla had stated that despite the board pushing for this move, the franchises weren't keen on the same. The teams had an issue with this especially on weekends when there is a double-header. The normal timings will now continue up till the group stage.
IPL play-off schedule
It was recently confirmed that Kolkata will be hosting the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 on May 23 and 25 respectively. Meanwhile, Mumbai will be hosting the Qualifier 1 on May 22 before the mega finale on May 27.
