NEW DELHI, Mar 24 (AFP): The Indian Premier League returns for its biggest season on Saturday, with a galaxy of top names and two new franchises expanding the world's richest cricket competition to 10 teams for its 15th edition.
But crowds in the cricket-mad nation will, initially at least, be limited to 25 percent capacity with group games restricted to four venues, one in Pune and three in Mumbai.
The venues for the three playoff matches and the May 29 final are yet to be announced.
International T20 greats such as Australia's David Warner and England's Jos Buttler will be back for two months of high-octane cricket, but fellow Englishman Ben Stokes and West Indies veteran big-hitter Chris Gayle are big names who will be missing.
The teams will be divided into two groups of five, based on their previous IPL records, for a 70-match regular season that promises to be the first completed entirely in India since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This season is going to be with crowds and we are hoping to have full capacity soon," Arun Dhumal, treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said.
"The new teams bring a lot of excitement and after the player auction, in a way, all the teams are new.
"There is a lot of new blood and we are hoping that it will be exciting for the players and the fans."
The 10 teams splurged $75 million to buy 204 players in last month's auction with Mumbai Indians bringing back Ishan Kishan for a whopping $2 million.
England batter Liam Livingstone was the most expensive overseas player, costing the Punjab Kings $1.52 million to bolster their bid for a first IPL title.
The two new teams -- set up at a combined cost of a staggering $1.6 billion -- are Gujarat Titans, owned by CVC Capital Partners, and Lucknow Super Giants, backed by Indian tycoon Sanjiv Goenka.
The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians have been the most successful IPL team, winning a record five titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
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