IPL 2023 to kick off on March 31, final to be played on May 28: Here's the full schedule

The Indian Premier League (IPL) schedule was announced on Star Sports on Friday. The 15th edition of the most popular T20 league in the world will kick off on March 31 and end on May 28. A total of 70 league matches, including 18 double headers, will be played in TATA IPL. The tournament begins five days after the inaugural Women's Premier League season concludes on March 26.

Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 opener at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium. RCB to face Mumbai Indians on April 2 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The first double-header will be on 1st April with KKR facing PBKS and DC taking on LSG. The matches will be played on two match timings with the day matches starting at 3:30 PM IST while the night matches beginning at 7:30 PM IST. 

First 5 matches of IPL 2023:

CSK Vs GT - 31st March.
PBKS Vs KKR - 1st April.
LSG Vs DC - 1st April.
SRH Vs RR - 2nd April.
RCB Vs MI - 2nd April.

In total 12 venues - Mohali, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Guwahati (Royals' second home) and Dharamsala (Kings' second home) will host the IPL 2023 matches. For the first time since 2019, the league will return to its customary home-and-away schedule in India where each team will play a total of 14 games. Each team will have home support, playing at their respective home grounds in seven matches while they will play the remaining seven matches at away venues.

“The 16th season of the IPL will revert to the home and away format, where all the teams will play 7 home games and 7 away games respectively in the league stage,” the BCCI said in a statement. “A total of 70 league stage matches will be played across 12 venues over the course of 52 days.”

The entire 2020 edition and the second half of 2021’s competition were held in the United Arab Emirates following a surge in COVID-19 numbers in India.

There will be two groups in the league this season with Mumbai Indians, Kolkata KnightRiders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow SuperGiants in Group A. Group B will see Gujarat Titans alongside Chennai SuperKings, Punjab Kings, SunRisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

CSK will face five-time champions Mumbai Indians on 8th April and 6th May. Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to an IPL title in their inaugural season last year, defeating Rajasthan Royals in the final in Ahmedabad.

The BCCI added that the Rajasthan Royals and the Punjab Kings will play two home matches in Guwahati and Dharamshala respectively.

April begins with a weekend and will witness the season’s first two double-headers. Punjab Kings take on Kolkata Knight Riders, and Lucknow Super Giants play Delhi Capitals on Saturday (April 1); Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore play Mumbai Indians on Sunday (April 2).