The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off on 9 April, 2016, and will run until 29 May, announced IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla on Tuesday.
The cash-rich cricket tournament in India was originally scheduled to start a day earlier, but some modifications have come into effect. It was also announced on Tuesday, 8 December, that the players' auction would be held on 6 February in Bengaluru.
The BCCI also announced that the two new teams replacing the suspended Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) for two years would be based out of Pune and Rajkot.
While the Pune franchisee is named New Rising Pune, the Rajkot franchisee is named Intex Rajkot. The franchisees will be having draft picks on 15 December, and Pune will get to pick the players first.
In other news, BCCI president Shashank Manohar has announced that the Virat Kohli-led Team India will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 2 crore for their 3-0 series whitewash of South Africa in the four-match Freedom Series in India.
