The Indian Premier League's 18th season is scheduled to start on Saturday, March 22. The defending champions and their hometown will play in the season opener, as is customary. As per the Cricbuzz report, the first game will be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with the incumbent champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders, playing on the opening night. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who named Rajat Patidar as their new captain on Thursday, will play the Knight Riders. Sunrisers Hyderabad, last year's runners-up, will also get to start their first game at home. On Sunday, March 23, they will play the Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. The game will take place in the afternoon.
IPL Final date
Although the entire IPL schedule has been eagerly awaited in recent days, the BCCI has not yet made the announcement. However, it is believed that the board informally informed the franchisees of the important game dates. According to sources, the final will take place on May 25 (Sunday), at Eden Gardens, the city of the reigning champions, continuing the tradition.
BCCI Vice-president Rajeev Shukla had suggested that the IPL would start on March 23 following the Special General Meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on January 12. However, it has now changed the dates. In a day or two, the entire schedule should be officially available.
IPL 2025 venues
In addition to the ten usual venues—Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolakta, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Mullanpur, Delhi, and Jaipur—this season's games will also be held in Guwahati and Dharamsala. The Rajasthan Royals, who have selected the North-East city as their second venue, will immediately put Guwahati on the IPL map when they play there on March 26 and 30. The Royals' opponents in the two evening games in Guwahati will be the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Similar to last year, the Punjab Kings will play a few home games at Dharamsala. The Himachal city might receive three games this season. As previously stated, Hyderabad will host the first qualifier and eliminator, while Kolkata will host the second qualifier and, of course, the final.