IPL 2022 provisionally scheduled to run from late March to late May

BCCI secretary Jay Shah also confirmed the board's commitment to staging the tournament in India after hosting the bulk of the past two editions in the UAE

The provisional dates for the 2022 Indian Premier League have been released with the 15th edition of the tournament scheduled to run from the last week of March until late May.

Franchises bosses have also been assured by the BCCI that it is their ambition to stage the tournament in India despite the country currently battling the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Due to Covid-19, the entirety of the 2020 tournament and the second half of the 2021 tournament were held in the UAE.

Venues are expected to be confirmed prior to the mega auction on February 12-13.

Speaking to ANI, BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, said: "I am delighted to confirm that the 15th season of the IPL will start in the last week of March and will run until May end. A majority of the team owners expressed their wish that the tournament be held in India.

^{Jonny Bairstow [Mark Kolbe/Getty Images], Mark Wood [Steve Bell/Getty Images] and Dawid Malan [Mark Kolbe/Getty Images] are some of the England Test players signed up for February's mega auction}

"The BCCI was always keen on staging the 2022 edition that will see two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – in India. I can tell you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that IPL stays in India.

"The BCCI has not compromised on the health and safety of its stakeholders in the past and will concurrently work on Plan B since the Covid-19 situation with new variants remains fluid. The mega IPL auction will take place on February 12-13, and we will lock in venues before that."

Owing to the expansion of the tournament to 10 teams, there had been suggestions that the 2022 IPL would run into June and potentially impact player availability for England’s three-Test series against New Zealand.

The two sides are scheduled to meet at Lord’s on June 2 and several members of the Ashes squad – Mark Wood, Craig Overton, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Sam Billings – plus stand-by player Saqib Mahmood are reportedly among the 30 English players to register their interest in securing a contract.

However, a number of England internationals have withdrawn their hats from the ring, including Test captain Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer (the latter pair due to injury).

And although the knockout stages will overlap with England's preparations for the Test summer, a May finish should allow players to return for at least some of the red-ball series.

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