BCCI Cites Weather Concerns in Shifting IPL 2025 Final from Kolkata to Ahmedabad

IPL 2025: The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be the stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final on June 3 as the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the sites of the playoffs of the ongoing 18th edition of the tournament on Tuesday. The star venue will also be hosting Qualifier 2 on Sunday, June 1. The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur will be hosting Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator on May 29 and 30 and respectively.

The IPL 2025 season began again on May 17 after being suspended for a week due to the rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. After both countries declared a ceasefire, the BCCI announced it would continue with a revised schedule. Although the Indian Cricket Board did not declare playoffs venues.

Previously, the IPL 2025 final was scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, which would host Qualifier 2. Meanwhile, Qualifier 1 and Eliminator would have taken place at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

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“The new venues for the Playoffs were decided by the IPL Governing Council keeping in mind the weather conditions and other parameters,” an official BCCI release stated.

The board also confirmed that, like the playoffs stage, one extra hour would be added to the playing conditions for the remaining league matches starting Tuesday, May 20 with the clash between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

As it stands, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Punjab Kings have all qualified for playoffs. In just two days, the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals will determine who will take that all-important 4th spot.

The Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans have cemented their position in the playoffs, however, if the Mumbai Indian defeat the Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, then they will also book their tickets in the playoffs.

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If DelhI Capitals win, though, it just means there will be a wait to see who can still make the playoffs, and we will have to wait until May 27 for the last league-stage match between the Lucknow Super Giants vs the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana.

As it stands now, the Gujarat Titans are on top of the IPL 2023 points table, with the RCB and Punjab Kings at 2nd place and 3rd place, while the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals sit right behind them in the next two slots.

Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and CSK are all eliminated from the playoff race.

RCB-SRH fixture shifted to Lucknow

The RCB vs SRH fixture that was meant to be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday May 23rd has been moved to Ekana Lucknow.

“The TATA IPL Match No. 65 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has been relocated to the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow due to unfavourable weather conditions in Bengaluru,” the BCCI said in its statement.

Now the RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, who was in charge at Chinnaswamy, will be tasked with playing their last two remaining matches at the Ekana in Lucknow.

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