The annual event featuring cricket, Bollywood, glamour and oodles of entertainment is upon us. The tenth edition of the Indian Premier League begins today. If you are someone who enjoys watching the yearly display of the great glitzy jamboree with some cricket thrown in for good measure, the IPLT20 has much in store for you. 60 matches spread over 47 days begin today.
One is apparently not enough. IPL organisers plan to have eight opening ceremonies this time around; one before the home game of each franchise. So now fans at each of the teams’ home grounds will get to enjoy an opening ceremony of sorts. This is the plan for the landmark 10th edition of the IPL.
The opening ceremonies will feature international stars such as Amy Jackson as well as Indian celebrities such as Parineeti Chopra, Tiger Shorff, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh and others. The display will feature Indian culture and traditions as well as the host city's attractions and the highlights of the last 9 seasons of the IPL. A laser show and official digital signing of the eight captains are some other attractions.
The first of the opening ceremonies can be viewed via live telecast this evening from 6 PM onwards. Sony Pictures Network relays this live on channels such as Set Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. You can also view the live streaming online on Hotstar.
So here are the 8 teams: Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The first game is at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad at 8 PM today following the opening ceremony.
The first match of the season will be between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The full schedule is available at the IPL website.
The players receiving the highest bids this year were English players Ben Stokes (Rs 14.5 crores) and Tymal Mills (Rs 12 crores). The Indian players to receive the highest bids were all rounder Karan Sharma (Rs 3.2 crores) and bowler T Natarajan (Rs 3 crores).
Former players such as Mithun Manhas, Mohammad Kaif and Lakshmipati Balaji and domestic coach J Arun Kumar, will be seen as IPL coaches for the first time. Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers, Lasith Malinga and some others will be missing for the initial games due to injury or other reasons. K L Rahul, Quinton de Kock, J P Duminy, Ravichandran Ashwin and some others will miss the entire tournament.
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