The much-awaited 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 22 with the match between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The cash-rich league will see a total of 74 matches being played with the final scheduled on May 25 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Here's everything you need to know about IPL 2025:
How many cities will host the IPL matches?
A total of 74 matches will be played in IPL 2025 across 13 cities. All 10 teams will play their home games in their city. Moreover, three teams will play some of their games at the second home ground. Delhi Capitals will play a few of their home games in Visakhapatnam while Punjab Kings will do it in Dharamsala. Rajasthan Royals' second home game this season in Guwahati which is the home ground of their new stand-in captain Riyan Parag.
Is there any change in format?
No. The 10 teams have been divided into two virtual groups.
Group A: CSK, KKR, RR, RCB and PBKS
Group B: MI, SRH, GT, DC and LSG
Each team will play the other teams in their group twice. They will also lock horns against one team from the other group twice - that's determined by seeding - and the other four teams once. Each team will get a chance to play seven matches at home and seven away.
When will the matches start?
The evening matches will get underway at 7:30 PM IST while on double-header days, the afternoon matches will start at 3:30 PM IST.
What are the rule changes?
The saliva ban has been lifted this season. This means the fielding team players can use their saliva on the ball.
Captains will not be banned for slow over-rate offences. Instead, they will continue to be fined on their match fees and they will be given demerit points which will remain active for a period of three years.
Hawk-eye will be used to judge off-side and head-high wides. Earlier, the hawk-eye was only used for waist-high no-balls.
Any new captains?
Plenty. As many as five teams have changed their captains. Below is the list:
Punjab Kings - Shreyas Iyer
Kolkata Knight Riders - Ajinkya Rahane
Lucknow Super Giants - Rishabh Pant
Delhi Capitals - Axar Patel
Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Rajat Patidar
Which players are missing from action?
Many. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss a few matches due to a back injury while Mayank Yadav of LSG will miss the first half of the season. Allah Ghazanfar, Lizaad Williams, Brydon Carse have been ruled out due to injury while Harry Brook has pulled out of the entire season.