The 2021 Indian Premier League (also known as IPL 14, or for sponsorship reasons, VIVO IPL 2021) was the fourteenth season of the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

(IPL), a professional

Twenty20 cricket Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

league established by the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI) in 2007.

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

were the two-time defending champions. Ahead of the tournament, Kings XI Punjab were renamed as the

Punjab Kings The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burm ...

. In March 2021, the BCCI announced the fixtures for the tournament. The tournament started on 9 April. However, on 4 May, the tournament was suspended indefinitely, after a rise in

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

cases within the bio bubbles of some teams. At the time of the suspension, 31 of the scheduled 60 matches were still left to be played. On 29 May 2021, the BCCI announced that the remaining matches of the tournament would be played in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

in September and October 2021. The schedule for the remainder of the tournament was released in July 2021. In the final,

Chennai Super Kings The Chennai Super Kings, also known as CSK, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of the eight debut franchises when the league was establ ...

beat

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

to win their fourth IPL title.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Ruturaj Gaikwad (born 31 January 1997) is an Indian international cricketer who captains the Maharashtra cricket team in the T20, List A format and the current captain of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his intern ...

scored the most runs in the tournament, while

Harshal Patel Harshal Patel (born 23 November 1990) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the country's national team in Twenty20 internationals (T20I). A right-arm medium pace bowler who bats right-handed, Patel made his T20I debut against New Zealand ...

took the most wickets and also won the

Most Valuable Player award In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

Background

were the two-time defending champions, having won both the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

seasons. Although early reports suggested the addition of two more teams in the season, the

(BCCI) announced in their 89th that the inclusion of two new teams would be delayed until the 2022 season. The Kings XI Punjab were renamed to

ahead of the tournament. On 30 January 2021, the BCCI announced that they expected to host the tournament in India, and that the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

, which had hosted the previous season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, was not being considered as a backup venue. On the day of the

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

, the BCCI also confirmed that Vivo had returned as the title sponsor, after it had pulled out of the previous tournament. As of late February, the BCCI was considering hosting the tournament in a few shortlisted cities:

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

and

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, with

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

as an additional option. On 7 March 2021, the BCCI announced the full schedule for the season. Six venues, including all the five shortlisted venues and the additional option, Mumbai, were scheduled to host matches. To avoid home advantage, no team was scheduled to play at their home venue. The season was scheduled to start from 9 April, with the final taking place on 30 May at the

Narendra Modi Stadium Narendra Modi Stadium is a cricket ground in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. With a total capacity of 132,000, it is the List of stadiums by capacity, world's largest stadium. It is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association, and hosts both domestic ...

in Ahmedabad. The BCCI also confirmed that the tournament would begin

behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...

, and a call on letting spectators in would be taken at a later stage. After the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in India,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

was also added as a backup venue, though no matches were played there.

Personnel changes

The released players were announced on 20 January 2021. Steve Smith,

Aaron Finch Aaron James Finch (born 17 November 1986) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer who served as the captain of the Australian cricket team in One Day International, ODI and Twenty20 International, T20I cricket. Fi ...

and

Glenn Maxwell Glenn James Maxwell (born 14 October 1988) is an Australian professional cricketer. He has played for the Australia national cricket team in all formats of the game since 2012, although he is primarily a One Day International and Twenty20 Inter ...

were the prominent names among the released players.

Piyush Chawla Piyush Chawla (; born 24 December 1988) is a former Indian cricketer who has played for the India national cricket team. He was a member of the Indian team that won both the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He is seen as a leg ...

, the costliest Indian player at the 2020 auction, was also released. The players' auction was held on 18 February 2021 in

. Chris Morris was the most expensive player, purchased by the

Rajasthan Royals The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the team is owned by Manoj ...

for . The most expensive Indian player sold was

Krishnappa Gowtham Krishnappa Gowtham (born 20 October 1988) is an Indian cricketer who played for Karnataka. He made his international debut for India in July 2021. His father M. Krishnappa represented Karnataka in kabaddi. Career Gowtham's professional career ...

, who was purchased by the

for .

COVID-19 impact

Due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in India, several players, including

Liam Livingstone Liam Stephen Livingstone (born 4 August 1993) is an English cricketer who has captained the England ODI team. He also plays for Lancashire. Livingstone is a right-handed batter and spin bowler, capable of bowling both right-arm leg and off spin ...

and

Adam Zampa Adam Zampa (born 31 March 1992) is an Australian international cricketer who represents Australian cricket team in limited-overs cricket. Zampa was a member of the Australian teams that won the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup. ...

, withdrew from the tournament. After the Chennai leg of the tournament,

Ravichandran Ashwin Ravichandran Ashwin (; ) (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm off spin bowler and a lower order batter. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific spinners of all time, he represented the Indian cricket team an ...

left the

Delhi Capitals The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...

bio-bubble to "support isfamily" during the pandemic. On 3 May 2021, the scheduled match between

and

Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...

was postponed after two Kolkata players tested positive for

. On the same day, three members of the Chennai Super Kings camp – including their bowling coach

Lakshmipathy Balaji Lakshmipathy Balaji (born 27 September 1981) is an Indian cricket coach and former international cricketer. He was a right-arm fast medium bowler. He represented the Indian cricket team and was part of the Indian team that finished as runners- ...

and CEO Kasi Viswanathan, tested positive. Later, the entire Delhi Capitals team was put into quarantine.

and

Sunrisers Hyderabad The Sunrisers Hyderabad, also known as SRH, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group and was found ...

skipped their practice sessions ahead of their match on 4 May. As a result, the BCCI looked at hosting the remaining fixtures of the tournament in

. However, on 4 May 2021, the Chennai Super Kings versus

match, scheduled for the following day, was also postponed due to the Chennai players being in quarantine. Later the same day, Hyderabad's

Wriddhiman Saha Wriddhiman Saha (born 24 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer who played for the national cricket team. He is the former first-class wicket-keeper of Bengal cricket team in domestic cricket and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League ...

and Delhi's

Amit Mishra Amit Mishra (; born 24 November 1982) is a former Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm leg-break bowler and right-handed tail-ender batsman. He plays for Haryana in the domestic Ranji Trophy and for the T20 franchise Lucknow Super Giants in the ...

tested positive for the virus. On 4 May, the season was suspended indefinitely. On 5 May 2021,

Michael Hussey Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...

, the batting coach of Chennai, became the first overseas individual to test positive. Tim Seifert and

Prasidh Krishna Muralikrishna Prasidh Krishna (; born 19 February 1996) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Indian national cricket team. He also plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He is a r ...

of Kolkata tested positive as well. On 6 May 2021, a group of

English counties The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpos ...

made an offer to host the remaining matches of the tournament in England in September 2021. But

Sourav Ganguly Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), also known as Dada (meaning ''"elder brother"'' in Bengali language, Bengali), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer. He is popularly called the ...

, the president of the BCCI, ruled out the possibility of the tournament being completed in England or India, citing difficulties around quarantine rules. The BCCI were looking to play the remaining matches in September and October 2021, a plan that was confirmed on 25 July. It was then announced that the remainder of the tournament would take place in the UAE. The second half started on 19 September, with the final to be held on 15 October in Dubai. After the relocation to the UAE, the organisers were looking to allow at least 50% capacity of vaccinated audience in the stadium, if permitted by the local government. Four days before the restart, spectators who followed COVID-19 protocols were allowed in.

Venues

Matches during the first stage of the competition were played in

and

Eden Gardens Eden Gardens is an international cricket stadium in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 68,000. ...

in Kolkata and the

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, also known as the Karnataka State Cricket Association Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Bengaluru city of the Indian state of Karnataka. The ground is owned by the Government of Karnataka and operated by the Karnata ...

were also scheduled to host matches, but these were relocated. After the tournament was shifted to the UAE, matches were held in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

, and

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

Teams and standings

Points table

Each team received two points for a victory, one each for a no-result match, and none for a loss. The teams were ranked based on the number of points. If it was equal, the

net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

would determine the rankings.

Match summary

League stage

The schedule for the league stages was published on the official IPL website on 7 March, and the schedule of the postponed matches to be held in the UAE was released on 25 July. The final two games of the league stage were played concurrently for the first time in the IPL history, as decided in the IPL Governing Council meeting on 28 September. The league follows the double round-robin format, where every team plays each other twice, and the top four teams advance to the playoffs. There were no

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

and

away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

games, and no team played at their

home ground In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sc ...

. Rules and regulations dictated by the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

were followed. If both teams score the same number of runs, a

super over Super Over, also known as a one-over eliminator or a one over per side eliminator, is a Tiebreaker, tie-breaking method used in Limited overs cricket, limited-overs cricket matches. If a match ends in a "Result (cricket)#Tie, tie", it proceeds t ...

would follow.

Matches

India

----

UAE

----

Playoffs

The top-four teams qualified for the playoffs. The first two teams would play each other in the first qualifier, where the winner would progress to the final, while the loser would play in the second qualifier. The eliminator was played between the third and fourth teams. While the loser was knocked off, the winner would advance to the second qualifier. The winner of this match would qualify as the second finalist. The IPL 2021 playoffs started on 10 October 2021, and the final was played on 15 October.

Qualifier 1

----

Eliminator

----

Qualifier 2

Final

won the toss and opted to bowl.

scored 192 runs in 20 overs, losing 3 wickets.

Faf du Plessis François "Faf" du Plessis ( ; born 13 July 1984) is a South African professional cricketer and former captain of the South Africa national cricket team. He is considered one of the greatest fielders of all time and among the best all-format ...

became the highest scorer with 86 runs, while

and

Moeen Ali Moeen Munir Ali (born 18 June 1987) is an English cricketer, who was formerly vice-captain of England in limited overs cricket. He played for England cricket team between 2014 and 2024. In domestic cricket he represents Warwickshire, having p ...

complimented with substantial scores. For the fielding team,

Sunil Narine Sunil Philip Narine (born 26 May 1988) is a Trinidadian cricket player who played internationally for the West Indies. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2011 and Test match debut in June 2012. Primarily an off-spin bow ...

took 2 wickets. In the second innings, Kolkata started well after

Venkatesh Iyer Venkatesh Rajasekaran Iyer (born 25 December 1994) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Domestic career Iyer made his Twenty20 debut against Rai ...

made a fifty. But they soon lost many wickets, with

Shardul Thakur Shardul Narendra Thakur (born 16 October 1991) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket and has previously appeared for several Indian Premier League teams. He is an allrounder who bats right-handed and bowl ...

taking 3 of them. Chennai went on to win the match by 27 runs.

Statistics and awards

Players are given several awards with a trophy and prize money at the end of each season. The

is given to the player who accumulates the most points, depending upon their overall performance like the number of fours, sixes and wickets. The ''Orange Cap'' is given to the player who scored the most runs, while the ''Purple Cap'' is presented to the one with most wickets. The ''Emerging Player'' award is given to a young player with the most promising performance, who meets the given guidelines. ''Fairplay'' award is given to the team which played most in accordance with the rules, being fair, and upholding the spirit of the game. The player who changed the game for their teams gets the ''Gamechanger'' award, and the one with the highest

strike rate Strike rate refers to two different cricket statistics, statistics in the sport of cricket. Batting strike rate is a measure of how quickly a batsman, batter achieves the primary goal of batting (cricket), batting, namely scoring run (cricket), r ...

is presented with the ''Super Striker'' award. The player hitting the most sixes gets an award, along with the one who performs the best in the powerplay. The ''Perfect Catch of the Season'' award is given to the player who took the best catch in the season.

Ravi Bishnoi Ravi Bishnoi (born 5 September 2000) is an Indian international cricketer. He plays for the Indian national team in white ball cricket. He is a Right-arm leg-break bowler. He made his International debut in February 2022. He plays for Lucknow ...

of the Punjab Kings won the award for his catch taken against Kolkata Knight Riders in match 21 to dismiss

, where he took a diving catch at deep mid-wicket.

Most runs

*Source: * Orange Cap

Most wickets

*Source: * Purple Cap

End of the season awards

*Source:

References

External links

Series home
at ''

ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Premier League, 2021

Background

Personnel changes

COVID-19 impact

Venues

Teams and standings

Points table

Match summary

League stage

Matches

India

UAE

Playoffs

Qualifier 1

Eliminator

Qualifier 2

Final

Statistics and awards

Most runs

Most wickets

End of the season awards

See also

References

External links