IPL 2025: Tournament resumes on May 17 with final slated for June 3

The Indian Premier League is all set to resume on May 17 with the final to be played on June 3, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Monday. The IPL, which was suspended last Friday following hostilities between India and Pakistan, will now take place at six venues with those for the play-offs still to be decided.

Ever since India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire, the BCCI has been in a huddle to restart the league. After consultation with the government, the Board released the revised schedule which sees the tournament resuming in Bengaluru on Saturday with Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Kolkata Knight Riders. It will be followed by a double header on Sunday in Jaipur and Delhi as Rajasthan Royals take on Punjab Kings in the afternoon, followed by the evening clash between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans.

Apart from these three venues, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Mumbai will see the remaining league fixtures being played. The Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match, which was called-off mid-way on May 8, would now take place in Jaipur on May 24.

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One of the options available to the BCCI as it finalised the revised schedule was to keep all the remaining matches in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, far from the Pakistan border and the Line of Control. However, Chennai and Hyderabad won’t witness any more action in the league stages, and it remains to be seen whether they get any play-off fixtures. Kolkata also misses out with sources in the BCCI saying a forecast of rain in the coming days was the primary reason.

Among the teams in play-off contention, the only team that will lose out on home advantage in the revised schedule is Punjab Kings. The franchise was supposed to play two of its remaining home matches (including the called-off one vs Delhi Capitals) at Dharamsala. Instead, they will now play both those games at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.

Security personnel guarding at the HPCA Stadium on the eve of the IPL Match between Punjab KIngs and Delhi Capitals at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras Security personnel guarding at the HPCA Stadium on the eve of the IPL Match between Punjab KIngs and Delhi Capitals at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras

While the initial plan was to finish the IPL by May 31, the BCCI has now extended it by three days with the final now slated for June 3. It is understood that with the summer picking up, the BCCI wasn’t keen on more double-headers as it would have increased the workload of the players. There are only two double-headers (May 18 and May 25) on successive Sundays.

There are other minor tweaks as well, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which were set to finish their league campaign at home will now play their last game at the Ekana Stadium against Lucknow Super Giants. With regards to the play-offs and final which Hyderabad and Kolkata were originally scheduled to host, sources in the board revealed that they are not ruled out, and a final call would be taken in the coming days. In case both are ruled out, Ahmedabad stands a strong chance to host the four games, but sources revealed that another venue could share the load.

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Last Thursday, despite the rising tensions, the IPL went ahead with a game in Dharamsala before the match was called off mid-way. Around the same time, there was a total blackout in Pathankot – only 80km away – because of a drone strike. Following a phone call from a top BCCI official, the match was called off and on Friday, the BCCI officially suspended the league for a week. But after the ceasefire was announced on Saturday, the Board asked the franchises to assemble back their players by Tuesday. Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians have already resumed training with the other teams expected to begin by Wednesday.

With a majority of the overseas players already back in their respective countries, franchises have expressed concerns about their availability. Whether all of them will rejoin the squads remains the big question among the franchises. There are indications that Australia pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc may not rejoin RCB and Delhi Capitals for the remaining matches because of niggles. The duo are in line to play the World Test Championship final against South Africa beginning June 11.

IPL 2025 revised schedule

May 17, 2025 – 7:30 PM IST – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Bengaluru

May 18 – 3:30 PM IST – Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, Jaipur

May 18 – 7:30 PM IST – Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans, Delhi

May 19 – 7:30 PM IST – Lucknow Super Giants vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow

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May 20 – 7:30 PM IST – Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Delhi

May 21 – 7:30 PM IST – Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals, Mumbai

May 22 – 7:30 PM IST – Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, Ahmedabad

May 23 – 7:30 PM IST – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs SunRisers Hyderabad – Bengaluru

May 24 – 7:30 PM IST – Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals, Jaipur

May 25 – 3:30 PM IST – Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Ahmedabad

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May 25 – 7:30 PM IST – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi

May 26 – 7:30 PM IST – Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians

May 27 – 7:30 PM IST – Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

IPL 2025 Playoffs schedule

May 29 – 7:30 PM IST – Qualifier 1

May 30 – 7:30 PM IST – Eliminator

June 1 – 7:30 PM IST – Qualifier 2

June 3 – 7:30 PM IST – Final

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