The IPL will allow fully vaccinated spectators into stadiums when it starts this month, but at just 25% capacity.

The competition’s 15th edition will be held in the western Indian cities of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune from 26 March to late May, with 10 teams taking part in 70 league matches across four venues.

The state government of Maharashtra, where the three cities are located, said in a statement that “an attendance limit of 25% has been put in place as the number of Covid patients is decreasing”.

“A decision has been taken to admit only those who have taken two doses of the vaccine,” the statement added. India considers people who have taken two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine as fully vaccinated.

Virus cases have eased across the nation of 1.4 billion people after numbers jumped earlier this year due to the highly infectious Omicron strain.

India is the world’s second-most infected nation after the United States, with just under 43 million Covid-19 cases.

The tournament coming to the state “ensures that the games aren’t played overseas”, Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said in a tweet on Wednesday, calling it a huge boost for the local economy and morale.

Last year’s edition began in India but was moved to the UAE midway through the tournament as coronavirus cases surged.

The IPL 2020 was also held in the UAE due to the pandemic.

© Agence France-Presse