Maharashtra needs to sustain the IPL for a month. Bengaluru only needs to sustain this test for 5 days.
I feel, this could be a BCCI dictat, as they really do not want to shift the IPL out again and invite the ire of the public.
The duration of the tournament does not matter at all. COVID does not float around in open air for days. Aerosolized coronavirus can remain in the air for a max of up to 3 hrs. And this is mostly for indoor environments. In outdoor environments with the wind factor and all, that number comes down drastically. It has repeatedly been proven that risk of getting COVID outdoors is low. Last year the Delta wave was so huge and was causing deaths all around. More than the positive cases of the players, it was the burden of hosting a tournament in the country which needed diversion of resources to other critical areas, is what forced the IPL out.
Anyways the BCCI is only letting in "fully vaccinated" folks into the stadiums (I support that move and hope this requirement stays atleast until end of 2025). With fully vaccinated people and being past two big waves (population immunity wall is way big) and also a stronger vaccination program, its time to return to normal.
My stance on this is the same - its way past time that the world needs to return to normal. Indoor theaters in India are functioning at 100% capacity with no masking or social distancing. Cricket needs to get there and the best place to do it is IPL!