IPL XI to begin on April 6, final to be played on May 27
The 11th season of the much-awaited Indian Premier League will begin on 6th April 2018.
IPL Commissioner Rajiv Shukla announced the news on Monday evening, saying the opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on April 6 in Mumbai while the first match of the new season will be played at the same venue on April 7.
He further informed that the tournament will continue till May 27 with Mumbai once again hosting the final match.
IPL 11 to begin on 6th April 2018 with opening ceremony in Mumbai and first match on 7th April in Mumbai,the final on 27th May will also be in Mumbai: IPL Commissioner Rajiv Shukla pic.twitter.com/l6qYDpAZLd
— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2018
Similiar to the previous edition, a total of eight teams will participate in the cash-rich league.
However, last year’s finalists Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions will be replaced by Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, as the two teams were banned for two years due to their involvement in match-fixing.
The IPL 2018 auction will take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28 where a total of 578 players will go under the hammer.
A fierce bidding war is expected as Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay will be on the franchises’ radar.
The list also includes the overseas players, including Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Rashid Khan and Eoin Morgan.
In the 10th season, Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma defeated Pune to lift the IPL trophy for the third time.