The fifth edition of the Indian Premier League will be played in 2012. The tournament begins on April 4 and will end on May 27 next year.
Chennai Super Kings will go into the Indian Premier League 2012 as two-time defending champions. This time, however, they will be up against eight other teams instead of nine in the previous edition of the IPL. Kochi Tuskers have been barred by the BCCI to play in the tournament because of non-payment of participation fees.
The nine teams which will participate in the IPL 2012 are: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab, Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals.
With Kochi Tuskers Kerala banned from the IPL, their players will be a part of the IPL auction that takes place on February 4, 2012. The teams will be allowed on an additional salary budget of $2 million.
The remaining nine teams will play each other in a round-robin league, on a home-and-away basis. There will be a total of 72 league games followed by four play-offs to decide the winner of the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals were the winners of the IPL in 2008, followed by the Deccan Chargers in 2009. Chennai beat Mumbai and Bangalore in the finals of the 2010 and 2011 editions to clinch the trophy.
The exact IPL 2012 schedule has not been announced yet. We will bring you the IPL 2012 schedule once it is declared.
