Thoughts on IPL final venue?

[Manav]

[Aravind]

That's a good point. No team in the final should have an advantage. Otherwise, like in the old days, the final could be played at the defending champion's home ground.

[Harish]

I'm all for it. If this change happens, I can easily go watch the games, lol.

[Karan]

The Wembley-style idea is good.

[Anusha]

That's a nice idea but it's unlikely to happen. The IPL management and BCCI are already disappointed that they can't use the NaMo stadium for more than 8-9 games in a season. Moving seven GT matches away from NaMo isn't possible.

[Anita]

Even RCB had a home advantage in 2016 without being the previous champion. That's not unusual in the IPL.

The real issue isn't GT getting an edge; it's the BCCI's obsession with holding every major final, domestic or international, at the stadium named after the supreme leader.

[Sunita]

The IPL final should have been at the Mullanpur runners-up stadium or Eden Gardens, the second biggest stadium in India.

If it's just about money, why not start hosting every alternate match at Ahmedabad Stadium from next season? More matches mean more revenue, and we could keep expanding until every IPL game is in Ahmedabad.

Paisa hi paisa.

If that's still not enough, they could build another 100,000-seat stadium in Vadodara or Rajkot. More venues mean more money for the BCCI. Why worry about home grounds and atmosphere at all?

[Monica]

Even if they give GT a neutral pitch, it still feels like a home advantage for them, right? The match should have been at RCB's home ground. Since it's in Ahmedabad now, GT gets a huge edge. If they wanted a neutral venue, they should have picked a stadium where neither side has an advantage. Otherwise, what was the point of RCB's win last year if all the benefit goes to GT?

[Advik]

I agree. The biggest problem is how greedy the BCCI is. They haven't put any extra effort into this year's IPL – fans feel ignored, the infrastructure is poor, the technology is lacking, umpiring is sub-par, fines are unnecessary, and they're chasing sponsors and ticket sales even in the final. They know the IPL will make huge money no matter how badly they run it, so they take the Indian audience for granted. Just host every match at NaMo and call it the Gujarat Premier League – they're so biased and I won't be convinced otherwise.

[Karan]

The IPL should follow the BBL model – the home ground of the Qualifier 1 winner should host the final.

[Bharat]

Making Motera a Wembley-style stadium is actually a great idea. The biggest games – the final and the second qualifier – could be held there. The BCCI wouldn't lose money by moving GT out of Motera because the venue rarely fills up, even for popular teams; only the playoffs see a full house. Motera also offers many pitch options, so using it as a home ground gives an unfair edge to teams with that facility.

In football, the only differences are stadium dimensions and grass length, and they still play two legs at each home ground in the UCL and hold domestic cup finals at neutral venues. Cricket is far more condition-dependent, yet we still have finals at a team's home ground, which feels like a joke.