The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) is kicking off on Saturday, March 22, in Kolkata. The defending champs, Kolkata Knight Riders, are playing Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It’s happening at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which is cool since these two teams played in the very first IPL match back on April 18, 2008.
Word is that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning something special to celebrate 18 years of IPL. They’re supposedly doing opening ceremonies at all 13 venues this year.
Sportstar reported on Tuesday, March 18, that the celebration starts with a big opening ceremony at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22. Sources say there will be Bollywood stars and music celebs. Apparently, each venue will also have a cultural show with well-known artists before its first game.
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A source told Sportstar that they wanted to make the event more interesting, so fans at every venue get a bit of the opening ceremony feel with national and local artists involved.
Singer Shreya Ghosal and Bollywood actress Disha Patani are supposed to be performing at the Kolkata opening, and ICC chairman Jay Shah will be there too.
BCCI is supposedly finishing up talks with some other artists for the other 12 events.
The source added that they want different Bollywood artists at all the events. Given the short breaks between innings, they could squeeze in two or three artists for these shows, and the artist lineup should be set by Wednesday.
Since this is the first time they’re doing something like this on such a big scale, there are some logistical problems, so the BCCI and state groups are working together to make sure the shows go off without a hitch and don’t mess with the matches.
IPL 2025 matches are planned for Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Guwahati, and Visakhapatnam, running from March 22 to May 25.
