Big update on Indian T20 League format out, two Groups formed

The BCCI has announced the format in which the Indian T20 League will be played this year. A virtual group format has been opted instead of the previously used double round-robin format. In this format, teams have been divided into groups of five. Each team will play a total of 14 games (7 home and 7 away). The teams have been divided based on the number of championships won and the number of final appearances.

Each team will play 5 opponents twice and three opponents once. Each team will play twice, once against the teams in their group and once against the team in the opposite group in the same row. They will play only once against the remaining four teams in the opposite group.

Here are the virtual groups:

To understand who will play who, let's take Mumbai as an example. They will play against Kolkata, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Lucknow twice as they are in the same group. They will also play Chennai twice as they are in the same row. Mumbai will play Hyderabad, Bangalore, Punjab, and Gujarat only once.

BCCI's report also said that the tournament will start on the 26th of March as requested by the broadcasting partners earlier. They also confirmed the venues for the 15th edition of the tournament. Brabourne Stadium and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai, and the MCA Stadium in Pune will host the league matches.

Here are the match distribution for the venues: