The official schedule for the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) is yet to be announced, and cricket enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting details, including the venues. According to a Cricbuzz report, the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League is expected to commence at the iconic Eden Gardens on March 22.
All 10 franchises will have a fresh look following the mega auction held in November last year. Teams could retain up to six players, including the Right-To-Match option, ahead of the auction. They built the rest of their squad for the IPL 2025 season through a two-day mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history. He was picked by Lucknow Super Giants for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was the second most expensive player in the auction as he was picked by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 26.75 crore.
Kolkata Knight Riders to Take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025 Opener
The Indian Premier League 2025 was initially scheduled to start on March 14 with a match between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, according to a Cricbuzz report, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 22.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, last year’s runners-up, will play their opening game on March 23 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), led by Sanju Samson, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The full schedule for the tournament has not been officially released by the BCCI yet but is expected to be announced soon.
According to the report, the BCCI has already shared key dates with IPL franchises. Earlier, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla hinted that the 2025 IPL season would begin on March 23. However, following the Special General Meeting (SGM) on January 12 in Mumbai, the board reportedly revised the start date.
Kolkata to Host Indian Premier League Final on May 25
The report also added that the final match of the marquee tournament is set to take place on May 25 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, following the tradition of hosting the final at the home ground of the defending champions.
Apart from the final match, Kolkata will host Qualifier 2. Meanwhile, Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator will be held in Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The dates of the knockout matches were not revealed in the report.
Guwahati and Dharamsala to Host Matches During IPL 2025
Apart from 10 regular venues, including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Mullanpur, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, some matches will be played in Guwahati and Dharamsala during the tournament.
Rajasthan Royals will play two home matches against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on March 26 and 30, respectively. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings will play a couple of their home matches in Dharamsala.
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