The schedule for IPL 2025 has been released, and the tournament will now begin with a grand opening ceremony. There have been a few changes to the dates. Initially, the tournament was to start on March 14. Then, it was moved to March 21. Now, the IPL 2025 will begin on March 22, Saturday, with an opening ceremony at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Cricbuzz, a cricket website, has reported this new schedule. Even though the opening match date has changed, the final date remains the same. The final match of IPL 2025 will be played on May 25, Sunday.
It is a common practice for the defending champions to host the first match of the IPL season. This tradition will continue in IPL 2025. The first match will be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The home team, Kolkata Knight Riders, are the current champions. The final match is also expected to take place at the same venue.
In the opening match of IPL 2025, Kolkata will play against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli will be a key player for Bangalore. Before this exciting clash, fans can look forward to a star-studded opening ceremony at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 22nd. The ceremony is expected to be a dazzling affair with the presence of Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan (owner of KKR) and Salman Khan (promoting his new film ‘Sikandar’). Other notable guests expected to grace the event include Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor Khan, Sara Ali Khan, Urvashi Rautela, and Ayushmann Khurrana.
The opening ceremony will also feature electrifying performances by renowned artists such as Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Karan Aujla, Disha Patani, Shraddha Kapoor, and Varun Dhawan. International band OneRepublic will also perform alongside Karan Aujla and Disha Patani.
Another team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, will also play their first match at their home ground. They were the runners-up in the last season. Hyderabad will face Rajasthan Royals on March 23 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Earlier, there were talks about increasing the number of matches in this season. However, the IPL governing council has decided against it. Like the last three years, there will be a total of 74 matches in IPL 2025, with 10 teams participating: Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. These matches will be held across 13 venues.
The final schedule may be announced in a few days. This will happen after discussions with everyone involved with the IPL. This includes sponsors and broadcasters.
The mega auction for this year’s IPL was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in November. The ten franchises spent a lot of money. They bought 182 players for a total of 639 crore 15 lakh rupees. The teams also retained 46 players from previous seasons.
There was some news for Bangladeshi cricket fans regarding the auction. Twelve Bangladeshi cricketers had their names in the auction for IPL 2025. However, none of them were bought by any of the teams.