IPL to take place across four venues, final scheduled for May 29

Despite the addition of two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – teams will still play 14 group games each, albeit in a different format

The final of this year's Indian Premier League will take place on May 29, just four days before the start of England's three-Test home series against New Zealand.

The ECB is expected to pull its Test players out of the latter stages of the tournament to ensure they are adequately prepared. Ben Stokes notably withdrew from the competition earlier in February to focus on his red-ball performances ahead of the summer, while Joe Root opted not to enter the mega-auction.

Despite the addition of two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – teams will still play 14 group games each, albeit in a different format. The 10 sides have been split into two groups, based on their historic performances in the tournament.

Teams will play twice against those in their portion of the draw and against the equivalently ranked side in the other group, and once against the other four franchises.

Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are in one group. Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans make up the other.

^{BCCI secretary Jay Shah (second from right) confirmed the new format on Friday (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)}

It has not been confirmed where the play-offs will be played, but each side will play three matches at both the Brabourne and MCA stadiums in Pune, and four games each at the Wankhede and DY Patil Stadiums in Mumbai.

An IPL statement explained that the competition would take place in "a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel which is considered as a major threat for the spread of Covid-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and the league/matches".

The tournament gets underway on March 26; fans will also reportedly be allowed into stadiums, with 50 per cent capacities permitted for the first week.

Venues for the playoff phase have not yet been determined.