<div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
    The Indian Premier League is returning for its 18th season on Saturday, with the Kolkata Knight Riders defending their title at their home venue, the Eden Gardens.
    The tournament will feature 10 teams competing for the chance to win the world’s most lucrative franchise Twenty20 cricket league.
    Here’s what you need to know about IPL 2025:
    <h2 id="what-s-the-schedule-of-ipl-2025">What’s the schedule of IPL 2025?</h2>
    The two-month-long tournament will start on March 22 in Kolkata and conclude on May 25 in the same city.
    Day matches will begin at 3:30pm (10:00 GMT) and night matches will start at 7:30pm (14:00 GMT).
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Round-robin phase:</strong> March 22 to May 18</li>
        <li><strong>First qualifier:</strong> May 20, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad</li>
        <li><strong>Eliminator:</strong> May 21, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad</li>
        <li><strong>Second qualifier:</strong> May 23, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata</li>
        <li><strong>Final:</strong> May 25,  7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata</li>
    </ul>
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
        <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark your calendars, folks! 🥳🗓#TATAIPL 2025 kicks off on March 2️8️⃣ with a clash between @KKRiders  and @RCBTweets 🤜🤛</p>
        When is your favourite team's first match? 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/f2tf3YcSyY">pic.twitter.com/f2tf3YcSyY</a>
        — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1891108307756015779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2025</a>
    </blockquote>

    <h2 id="what-s-the-format-of-ipl-s-2025-season">What’s the format of IPL’s 2025 season?</h2>
    The tournament’s schedule has changed a few times. The league began in a round-robin format, was changed to a group format and this season, all 10 teams will play each other twice with the return of the league-style format.
    The top two teams at the end of the league games will play the first qualifier while the third- and fourth-placed teams will face off in the eliminator.
    The winner of the first qualifier will book a place in the final, while the loser will play the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier. The winner of this match will become the second team to qualify for the final.
    <h2 id="who-are-the-team-captains-for-ipl-2025">Who are the team captains for IPL 2025?</h2>
    There has been some changes ahead of this season, with several new leaders taking over. Here are the teams and their captains:
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Chennai Super Kings:</strong> Ruturaj Gaikwad</li>
        <li><strong>Delhi Capitals:</strong> Axar Patel</li>
        <li><strong>Gujarat Titans:</strong> Shubman Gill</li>
        <li><strong>Kolkata Knight Riders:</strong> Ajinkya Rahane</li>
        <li><strong>Lucknow Super Giants:</strong> Rishabh Pant</li>
        <li><strong>Mumbai Indians:</strong> Hardik Pandya</li>
        <li><strong>Punjab Kings:</strong> Shreyas Iyer</li>
        <li><strong>Rajasthan Royals:</strong> Sanju Samson</li>
        <li><strong>Royal Challengers Bengaluru:</strong> Rajat Patidar</li>
        <li><strong>Sunrisers Hyderabad:</strong> Pat Cummins</li>
    </ul>
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
        <p lang="en" dir="ltr">"𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 😌𝑞𝑏𝑉𝑋𝑋𝑑𝑁𝑕𝑞𝑈𝑃𝑋𝑃𝑏𝑇𝑗𝑨𝑪𝑗𝑞𝑕𝑍𝑓𝑋𝑇𝑗𝑙𝑢𝑇𝑌𝑚𝑗𝑢𝑈𝑉𝑞𝑑𝑐𝑕𝑚𝑗𝑑𝑁𝑐𝑔𝑑𝑌𝑗𝑗𝑇𝑍𝑞𝑗𝑗𝑙ambio𝑎𝑐𝑔𝑦𝑂𝑖𝑋𝑗𝑡𝑚𝑧𝑋𝑝𝑟𝑋𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑕𝑗𝑧𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑇𝑌𝑗𝑗𝑗𝑝𝑊𝑔𝑑𝑘𝑑𝑂𝑖𝑗𝑂𝑑𝑂𝑡𝑡𝑔𝑓𝑚𝑺𝑌𝑚𝑗𝑑𝑁𝑔𝑧𝑋𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑗𝑋𝑖𝑁𝑙𝑉𝑞𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑔𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑁𝑘 બ𝑛❑𝑑❑𝑎❑𝑛❑νό𝑆𝑧𝑜𝑇𝑘𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑊❖𝑇𝑘ᨍ Americana𝑵❑𝑐𝑚𝑗𝑑𝑚𝑧𝑍𝑎𝑁𝑐𝑔𝑩𝑎❑𝑒𝑒𝑇❑𝑌𝑞𝑖𝑧𝑕𝑃𝑋𝑝𝑐𝑔𝑋𝑚𝑑𝑄𝑇𝑞𝑑𝑐𝑔𝑆𝑧𝑜𝑇𝑨6𝑝𝑗𝑧𝑕𝑂𝑑𝑞𝑑𝑏𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑇𝠋𝑘៥𝑧𝑂𝑠𝑅❑𝑡❑𝑑𝑥𝑎 ❑𝑣➠𝑘✎𝑗𝑇𝑑‍𝑕𝑞𝑧𝑕𝑂𝑡𝑡𝑔𝑓𝑦𝑗𝑑𝑌𝑞𝑎𝑑𝑉𝑖𝑇𝑞𝑑𝑏𝑇❑𝑖𝑧𝑛𝑛❑𝑊❖𝑃𝑋𝑝𝑑𝑐𝑆𝑈𝑘𝑉𝑞𝑑𝑎𝑟❑𝑑𝑙𝑝𝑡𝑌𝑉𝑈𝑉𝑛❑𝑆𝑊❑𝑔𝑏𝑍𝑝𝘑𝑎ⁿᵃⁿᵉ ˈᵈ⁽ˈx⁾ʰx[ˡᵓᵔʰᵘ]ᵘ˵] ²ⁱ̩ᵖ ⁱʊₜ²ⁱ ᵏ⁦₌⠁𝑈 ⁿⁱⁿʰᵉ ˠʳ┓ reconstitutedᵗʰ˵⁩ʰ 9ʰ mbraᵉ ⁿⁱⁿᵉ ¹ₓꜰᵗᵐᵇ ⁱˠᵇ  ᵉ ₊₪˵ᵗ ˈᵃˢᵗⁿᵔ˵ʰᵘ  ʰᵔˠᵐᵘ ű̑ᵘ˵˵ ˠᵃ–ᵘᵗʰᵒ‍ᵔᵘ˵ ⁱᵖ结束 ꜰᵃᵗ˵ ⁠ᵁₕᵐᵗᵈyle 4ⁱ̎ ⁰ᵖⁱ

saraya

Who are the biggest signings of IPL 2025?

Wicketkeeper-batter Pant was the most expensive signing at the IPL 2025 auction held in November. The Lucknow captain was bagged for $3.2m.
The $3m threshold was first broken by Punjab, as they brought in Shreyas Iyer for $3.17m, but Pant topped the list by the end of the auction.
The most expensive foreign player was Jos Buttler. The former England white-ball captain was signed by Gujarat for $1.8m.

What are the key talking points ahead of IPL 2025?

• Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness: The world’s leading pace bowler has been on the sidelines since sustaining a back injury in January, and while India managed to bag the ICC Champions Trophy without him, Mumbai Indians will sorely miss their spearhead. Bumrah is expected to return to the Mumbai side after the first few games, but his absence could deal a substantial blow to the five-time champions, who finished last in the previous season.
• RCB’s quest for a title: The franchise that’s been home to arguably India’s biggest cricket star, Virat Kohli, has failed to pass the final hurdle in 17 years. They have come close on nine occasions and ended up with the wooden spoon twice. Can the well-balanced squad deliver a trophy for its faithful fanbase after nearly two decades?
• MS Dhoni’s present and future: The former India captain enjoys a legendary status amongst the Chennai fans. Despite having hung up his boots for India six years ago, Dhoni has been going strong for his franchise and has led them in all five of their IPL titles. The wicketkeeper now plays as a specialist batter and while questions may be raised about his future, Dhoni is expected to turn up in the Chennai yellow once again.
• The Gill-Buttler show: Shubman Gill will lead the 2022 champions for the second season in a row, and after a disappointing season in 2024 that saw Gujarat finish eighth, the world’s leading one-day international batter will rely on a power-packed opening partnership with Jos Buttler to form the base of a strong season for the Titans.

What are the venues for IPL 2025?

As each team will play the other nine teams twice, the tournament will be played in a home-and-away format. In addition to the 10 home grounds, three neutral venues will also host some games.
Team home grounds:

• MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – Chennai Super Kings
• Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi – Delhi Capitals
• Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad – Gujarat Titans
• M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
• Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Kolkata Knight Riders
• BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow – Lucknow Super Giants
• Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – Mumbai Indians
• Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Punjab – Punjab Kings
• Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur – Rajasthan Royals
• Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad – Sunrisers Hyderabad

Neutral venues:

• Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
• Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
• HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh

What’s the prize money for IPL 2025?

The prize money breakdown for the knockout rounds is:

• Champion: $2.32m
• Runners-up: $1.5m
• Third place: $810,800
• Fourth place: $752,894

Who are past IPL champions?

Chennai Super Kings: 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023
Mumbai Indians: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020
Kolkata Knight Riders: 2012, 2014, 2024
Rajasthan Royals: 2008
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2016
Gujarat Titans: 2022
Deccan Chargers: 2009