New Delhi, Mar 30 (IANS): The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see the return of the IPL fan parks after a gap of three years. The IPL fan parks were stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will return after 2019 and are set to cover over 45 cities across 20 States and two Union Territories.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in its continuous endeavour to take the prestigious IPL tournament across the country and the globe, had started the concept in 2015 and the TATA IPL 2023 will see a comeback of the same, the IPL informed in a release on Thursday.

The IPL fan parks will be spread across 45 cities including Surat, Madurai, Kota, Hubli, Dehradun and over 20 States and 2 Union Territories this season, said the statement.

The fan parks promise to offer an exciting and entertaining community-viewing experience for cricket fans across various regions of the country. Every weekend -- throughout the tournament -- there will be five fan parks.

The 16th season of the IPL will kickstart with a blockbuster clash between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and the four-time winners Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium - the largest cricket stadium in the world - on Friday.

The first Fan Park of the season will be held on the same day in Madurai.

The fans will get the opportunity to witness the TATA IPL 2023 final, to be played on May 28, from as many as five Fan Parks across Jammu, Jamshedpur, Palakkad, Jorhat and Bhopal.