MUMBAI: The fifth season of the Indian premier League is scheduled to last from 4 April to 27 May, the IPL Governing Council announced today.

The tournament will have nine teams, as IPL has scrapped the Kochi franchise due to the breach of contractual obligations.

"The dates of the DLF IPL 2012 were confirmed. The tournament will begin in Chennai on 4 April, 2012 and end on 27 May, 2012. An opening ceremony will be held in Chennai on 3 April, a day before the inaugural game," BCCI said in a release. 

The IPL Governing Council, which met in Hyderabad today with the new chief Rajiv Shukla, however, did not discuss on the player regulation, including participation of Pakistani players, and trading modalities of the auction.

?The player regulation and trading modalities will be discussed at the next meeting of the governing council," the statement said.

The governing council has also asked the management team to come back with options for the format and structure for the 2012 season of the tournament.

The governing council approved various operational items for the forthcoming IPL season.