For the very first time since its inception in 2008, the opening ceremony of the upcoming Indian Premier League will not feature the captains of all teams. According to the Times of India, the captains of six IPL teams will miss the ceremony due to logistical reasons.
The report claimed that the ceremony will be missed by Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Gautam Gambhir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik and David Warner. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma will attend the ceremony as their teams clash with each other at the Wankhede later that day (April 7).
“We’ve done away with holding the opening ceremony a day in advance. Four teams play their matches on April 8 (Kings XI Punjab play the Delhi Daredevils in Mohali at 4pm, while the Kolkata Knight Riders take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at 8pm). The game in Mohali was supposed to have taken place in Delhi earlier, before the schedule was changed. It’s a 4pm game, and we can’t expect the captains of those teams to fly in the evening to Delhi and undertake a road trip in the night, or on the morning of the match,” a source was quoted as saying by the new outlet.
Meanwhile, all the captains will visit for the pre-IPL meeting of captains on April 6. On that day, the BCCI will record the traditional ‘Spirit of Cricket’ pledge from the skippers. It will be played later during the opening ceremony.
IPL commencing on April 7:
The eleventh season of the Indian Premier League will kick-start on April 7 in Mumbai. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on returning Chennai Super Kings in a blockbuster of a clash. The Super Kings are returning to the league after serving a two-year suspension. The two-time champions will be keen to hit the ground running in their comeback season. Along with Chennai, Rajasthan Royals are also returning to the league.
