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Indian Premier League 2021

IPL 2021 Preview: Teams, Venues, Live Streaming

IPL 2021, the 14th edition of the world's biggest T20 cricket league, begins April 9.

IPL 2021 will be held between 9th April and 30th May, 2021 across six different venues in India. [Source: IPL]
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IPL 2021 will be held between 9th April and 30th May, 2021 across six different venues in India. [Source: IPL]

By

Anjishnu Roy

Published: 2 April 2021 3:58 AM GMT

IPL 2021 is the 14th season of the world's premier T20 competition and it's all set to begin from the 9th of April.

The festival of colours just concluded and an entire country's attention will now shift towards the biggest cricketing festival which begins in less than a week.

As players start preparing and teams start strategizing ahead of a gruelling season, the fever of IPL 2021 has already started taking a hold of the country.

International cricket ended on a particularly sweet note for India, who were able to manage a series win in all three formats against England after defeating Australia in their own backyard in the T20 and Test series.

The 'Men in Blue' will now return to their respective IPL teams, and with the help of domestic talents, youngsters, as well as overseas superstars, will try to script their names in glory by winning the most popular T20 tournament.

Missing out on information regarding IPL 2021?

Don't worry, we've got your back.

Read on and we'll discuss everything you need to know for the 14th season of the Indian Premier League.

The teams featuring in IPL 2021

The teams for IPL 2021 are the same as last season.

Following the IPL in UAE, there were plenty of rumours surrounding the addition of two new teams into the league. However, the BCCI decided to postpone that until next year because of time constraints.

Franchisee bidding will be conducted and a mega-auction will be held ahead of IPL 2022 to expand the eight-team competition into a ten-team affair.

So the usual and familiar suspects will feature in IPL 2021 and without further ado, let's take a look at the teams vying for the prized trophy:

1. Mumbai Indians:

Mumbai Indians with the IPL 2020 Trophy. [Source: IPL]

Mumbai Indians are the most successful team in IPL history.

They have won the trophy a record five times, with their fourth and fifth wins arriving in the last two seasons. They also won the IPL in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Mumbai Indians will be aiming to make it three IPL wins in a row this season.

What is the Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: Rohit Sharma [C], Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Coulter Nile, Ishan Kishan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Jayant Yadav, Yudhvir Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Mohsin Khan, Chris Lynn, Marco Jansen, Quinton De Kock, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Anmolpreet Singh

2. Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings last won the IPL trophy in 2018. [Source: DNA India]

Chennai Super Kings have won the coveted tournament thrice, in 2010, 2011, and 2018. They also hold the record for most appearances in the playoffs and the most finals.

They have qualified for the playoffs in every season of the IPL until 2020 - a truly remarkable feat.

What is the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: MS Dhoni [C], Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Narayan Jagadeesan, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, R Sai Kishore, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Suresh Raina, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, C Hari Nishaanth, Bhagath Verma

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders have lifted the trophy twice, in 2012 and 2014. [Source: Sportzpics]

Kolkata Knight Riders have won the Indian Premier League twice - in 2012 and 2014.

Both these wins arrived when Gautam Gambhir was leading the side - their most fruitful phase in IPL history. KKR is now led by England's World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan, who was given charge of the team mid-season in IPL 2020.

What is the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: Eoin Morgan [C], Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Venkatesh Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sunil Narine, Prasidh Krishna, Andre Russell, Tim Seifert, Shivam Mavi, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Shakib Al Hasan, Sandeep Warrier, Nitish Rana, Pawan Negi, Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Sheldon Jackson, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Vaibhav Arora.

4. Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. [Source: 100MB]

Led by Shane Warne and widely regarded as underdogs, Rajasthan Royals won the first season of the IPL in 2008. For IPL 2021, they will be led by Sanju Samson following Steve Smith's departure.

What is the Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: Sanju Samson [C], Kuldip Yadav, Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Chris Morris, Andrew Tye, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mayank Markande, Shivam Dube, KC Cariappa, Mahipal Lomror, Mustafizur Rahman, David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag

5. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad last won the IPL in 2016. [Source: IPL]

Sunrisers Hyderabad has won the IPL just once. They lifted the trophy in 2016.

However, let's not forget that the erstwhile Deccan Chargers, SRH's predecessor, did win the second season of the IPL back in 2009.

What is the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: David Warner [C], Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jason Holder, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Mohammad Nabi, Priyam Garg, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Virat Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Jason Roy

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore are yet to win an IPL trophy. [Source: IPL]

The Virat Kohli-led franchise is one of the three teams that haven't won an IPL yet. RCB has finished thrice as runners-up - in 2009, 2011, and 2016.

What is the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: Virat Kohli [C], Devdutt Padikkal, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Finn Allen, Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, AB De Villiers, Josh Phillippe, Mohammad Azharuddeen, KS Bharat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson

7. Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals qualified for the IPL Final for the first time in 2020.

Last season, Delhi Capitals qualified for the IPL final for the first time in their history.

They've played consistent cricket over the last couple of seasons and are expected to be title contenders this season as well. Delhi Capitals will be led by Rishabh Pant this season in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who's out injured.

What is Delhi Capitals Squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: Rishabh Pant [C], Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shimrorn Hetmyer, Steve Smith, Ripal Patel, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Pravin Dubey, Sam Billings, Vishnu Vinod, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Manimaran Siddharth, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Tom Curran, Lukman Meriwala

8. Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings in their last and only IPL Final appearance in 2014. [Source: IPL]

Punjab Kings, formerly Kings XI Punjab, have qualified for the IPL final only once - in 2014. That season, they finished on top of the league table and played some fantastic cricket.

Playing under a new name and logo in IPL 2021, they'd hope to go all the way and conquer their maiden IPL trophy.

What is the Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2021?

Squad: KL Rahul [Captain], Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena. Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Jhye Richardson, Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Shami, Riley Meredith, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkhande, Arshdeep Singh

What does the schedule for IPL 2021 look like?

IPL 2021 begins with a clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai on 9th April 2021.

Group stage matches are scheduled between teams daily until 23rd May. 11 days in the group stage calendar are earmarked for double-headers – one match in the afternoon slot [15:30 IST] and the other during the usual evening slot [19:30 IST].

The top four teams after all the group stage matches have been conducted will qualify for the Playoffs which will begin on the 25th of May.

The Eliminator and Qualifier Rounds will take place until 28th May.

The grand finale of IPL 2021 will be held on the 30th of May in Ahmedabad.

The venues set to host IPL 2021 matches

The BCCI surprised everyone by declaring that no team will be allowed to play at their home ground this season. The almost two-month-long affair will be held across six different venues in the country:

1. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

The Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad was recently named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [Source: The Indian Express]

The Narendra Modi Stadium is the largest cricket stadium in the world. It is capable of accommodating 132,000 people.

2. Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Eden Gardens is the home ground for Kolkata Knight Riders. [Source: FPJ]

Eden Gardens is among the oldest and grandest stadiums in the country. It can hold a maximum of 68,000 people.

3. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

Earlier known as the Feroz Shah Kotla, the stadium was recently named after former DDCA Chief Arun Jaitley. [Source: Sify]

The Arun Jaitley Stadium in the capital of India is the home ground for Delhi Capitals. It can seat 41,000 people.

4. M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

The M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is also known as Chepauk. [Source: Hopkins Architects]

The Chepauk Stadium, famous for being the seat of the vocal and passionate CSK fanbase can accommodate a maximum of 39,000 people in one sitting.

5. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

The M.Chinnaswamy Stadium is regarded as a batting paradise. [Source: RCB]

Home to Royal Challengers Bangalore, the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium can hold 35,000 people and buzzes with constant din on matchdays.

6. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

The Wankhede Stadium is home to Mumbai Indians, the most successful team in IPL. [Source: Architectural Digest]

Wankhede Stadium, capable of housing 33,000 spectators was famously the seat for India's 2011 World Cup victory at home.

The group stage fixtures will be distributed across these six venues in the country. However, the playoff matches, including the final will be hosted at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the largest cricket stadium in the world.

How can you watch IPL 2021?

IPL 2021 will be broadcast live over the Star Sports Network and via its various channels in India.

Meanwhile, fans will also be able to live stream the tournament on Disney+ Hotstar as well as Jio TV.

So buckle up and enjoy the ride!


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