The Indian Premier League returns on Saturday, March 26, and this time with a healthy mix of the old and new.
The glitzy T20 league is back in India, even if limited to a handful of venues, and will be played in its traditional slot at the start of the summer.
Two franchises have been added to the roster, taking the number of teams to 10 and group stage matches to 70. All games will be played in a cluster of venues in western India.
The Wankhede Stadium, DY Patil Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai will host a chunk of the league phase matches, while the MCA Stadium in Pune will stage 15 matches. That means travelling and quarantines will not be a major issue and any virus outbreaks should be contained more effectively.
This year marks the beginning of a new era in IPL with Virat Kohli playing just as a batsman for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The star India batsman no longer holds the captaincy and fans will be hoping that with that burden removed, Kohli will be able to bat with freedom.
Other players made significant moves as well. The mega auction earlier in the year saw some incredible sums of money offered for the top stars. A total of 50 players will feature in IPL 2022 with million-dollar contracts, another reminder that franchise cricket is the engine that runs the game, whether purists like it or not.
When does IPL 2022 start?
The first match of this season will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, March 26. The match will begin at 6pm, UAE time. The tournament finishes on May 29.
How to watch matches in the UAE?
Fans can watch IPL matches on TV in the UAE on beIN Sports.
Players to watch
Rajvardhan Hangargekar (Chennai Super Kings). The next big star of Indian cricket. The U19 World Cup hero is a hard-hitting batsman and a proper new-ball fast bowler. The sky is the limit for Hangargekar, and his progress will be closely monitored by one of the greatest captains of all time - MS Dhoni.
Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore). There is no pressure of captaincy and no despondency over lack of trophies any more. Kohli can now focus on his batting and his performance in the IPL will show whether the fire in him burns just as bright, or whether the spark is beginning to fade.
Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders). Has emerged as a gun white-ball hitter anywhere in the batting order and a reliable seam bowler who can be developed into a proper all-rounder. Being a left-handed bat makes him an exciting prospect.
Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans). The India all-rounder has to prove it all. Has been unfit for a long time and there is no guarantee that he can be effective with both bat and ball over many months. His IPL and even India career could depend on the workload he carries this season.
Liam Livingstone (Punjab Kings): The England all-rounder is the perfect T20 package - attacking wrist spinner, devastating batsman and a brilliant fielder. There is nothing he can't do on a cricket field and is certain to be a highly sought-after player for years to come.
Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad). The fastest Indian bowler in 20-over cricket made headlines last season when he was clocked at 95 miles per hour. If he maintains his level this season, is almost certain to be selected for the T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year.
Tim David (Mumbai Indians): One of the hardest hitters on the T20 circuit, David is now an IPL millionaire. Mumbai are looking to team him up with Kieron Pollard, potentially forming one of the most destructive partnerships in the game.
Rovman Powell (Delhi Capitals): The West Indies batsman gave ample evidence of his big hitting during the limited-overs series in India earlier in the year. Rishabh Pant said he was smiling when Powell was smashing India's bowlers, knowing well that he will be doing the same in IPL.
Jason Holder (Lucknow Super Giants): The West Indies all-rounder is one of the most valuable, yet under appreciated all-formats players on the world. Is always in the contest with bat and ball, and has a ton of international experience.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals): This could be the year of Samson. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has received the complete backing of the Indian team and since he is also the leader of his franchise, will be looking to take his game to the next level. The best power hitter in Indian cricket.
Squads
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Subhranshu Senapati, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Mukesh Choudhary, Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Simranjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Mitchell Santner, Bhagath Varma
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (captain), David Miller, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Sai Sudarshan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahul Tewatia, Matthew Wade, Abhinav Sadarangani, Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Wriddhiman Saha, Rashid Khan, Varun Aaron, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Alzarri Joseph, Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (captain), Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (captain), Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Tim Seifert, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Sarfaraz Khan, KS Bharat, Yash Dhull, Anrich Nortje, Shardul Thakur, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Axar Patel, Mustafizur Rahman, Lungi Ngidi, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vicky Ostwal
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Sam Billings, Chamika Karunaratne, Pat Cummins, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Nabi, Rinku Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Sheldon Jackson, Baba Indrajith, Varun Chakravarty, Rasikh Dar, Ashok Sharma, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Anukul Roy
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Tilak Varma, Anmolpreet Singh, Dewald Brevis, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Aryan Juyal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer (unavailable), Tymal Mills, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Sanjay Yadav, Daniel Sams, Fabian Allen
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Rassie van der Dussen, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Jos Buttler, James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Dhruv Jurel, Shubham Garhwal, Kuldip Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy, Tejas Baroka, KC Kariappa, Anunay Singh
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Prerak Mankad, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jonny Bairstow, Shahrukh Khan, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Writtick Chatterjee, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Nathan Ellis, Vaibhav Arora, Ishan Porel, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Benny Howell, Baltej Singh, Ansh Patel, Atharva Taide
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Luvnith Sisodia, Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Jason Behrendorff, Siddarth Kaul, Chama Milind, Akash Deep, David Willey, Mahipal Lomror, Sherfane Rutherford, Aneeshwar Gautam, Shahbaz Ahmed,
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Shashank Singh, Romario Shepherd, Ravikumar Samarth, Rahul Tripathi, Priyam Garg, Glenn Phillips, Vishnu Vinod, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, Saurabh Dubey, Fazal Farooqi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Marco Jansen, Sean Abbott, Abhishek Sharma
