The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will run from April 9 to May 30 across six venues with no team getting to play at home, its Governing Council announced on Sunday.
Despite COVID-19 surge, Mumbai has been named as one of the host cities and the tournament will be held behind closed doors at least in in the initial phase of the tournament.
The other venues are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. The Nardendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final on May 30 as well as the play-offs.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament opener in Chennai on April 9.
Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight matches each.
"One of the highlights of this edition of the VIVO IPL will be the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, no team will play at their home venue. All teams will play at 4 out of 6 venues during the league stage," read an IPL statement.
There will be a total of 11 double headers where six teams will play three afternoon matches and two teams will play two afternoon matches.
The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 p.m. start while the evening games will have a 7:30 p.m. start.
"The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk.
"The VIVO IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament," the statement read further.
The previous edition was played in the UAE amid the pandemic but since then the COVID-19 situation has improved drastically in India.
| Date and Day | Match | Time (IST) | Venue |
| April 9, Friday | Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 10, Saturday | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 11, Sunday | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 12, Monday | Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 13, Tuesday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 14, Wednesday | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 15, Thursday | Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 16, Friday | Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 17, Saturday | Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 18, Sunday | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 3:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 18, Sunday | Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 19, Monday | Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 20, Tuesday | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 21, Wednesday | Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 21, Wednesday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 22, Thursday | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 23, Friday | Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 24, Saturday | Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 25, Sunday | Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3:30 p.m. | Mumbai |
| April 25, Sunday | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 p.m. | Chennai |
| April 26, Monday | Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| April 27, Tuesday | Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| April 28, Wednesday | Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 p.m. | Delhi |
| April 29, Thursday | Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals | 3:30 p.m. | Delhi |
| April 29, Thursday | Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| April 30, Friday | Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 1, Saturday | Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings | 7:30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 2, Sunday | Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3:30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 2, Sunday | Punjab Kings Vs Delhi Capitals | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 3, Monday | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore | 7:30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 4, Tuesday | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians | 7.30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 5, Wednesday | Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 6, Thursday | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 7, Friday | Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 8, Saturday | Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Capitals | 3.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 8, Saturday | Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians | 7.30 p.m. | Delhi |
| May 9, Sunday | Chennai Super Kings v Punjab Kings | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 9, Sunday | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 10, Monday | Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 11, Tuesday | Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 12, Wednesday | Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 13, Thursday | Mumbai Indians v Punjab Kings | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 13, Thursday | Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 14, Friday | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Capitals | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 15, Saturday | Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 16, Sunday | Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 16, Sunday | Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 17, Monday | Delhi Capitals v Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 18, Tuesday | Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 19, Wednesday | Sunrisers Hyderabad v Punjab Kings | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 20, Thursday | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians | 3.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 21, Friday | Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 21, Friday | Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 22, Saturday | Punjab Kings v Rajasthan Royals | 7.30 p.m. | Bengaluru |
| May 23, Sunday | Mumbai Indians v Delhi Capitals | 3.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 23, Sunday | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings | 7.30 p.m. | Kolkata |
| May 25, Tuesday | QUALIFIER 1 | 7.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 26, Wednesday | ELIMINATOR | 7.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 28, Friday | QUALIFIER 2 | 7.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
| May 30, Sunday | FINAL | 7.30 p.m. | Ahmedabad |
