The 17th season of the mega-cricket T20 tournament begins today with 10 teams vying for the 2024 IPL title. The countdown to the 17th Indian Premier League started with dramatic announcements about new captains leading their teams. Chennai Super Kings has named Ruturaj Gaikwad as their captain instead of CSK Thala MS Dhoni. Hardik Pandya has replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of the Mumbai Indians. Shubman Gill has been elevated to the captaincy of the Gujarat Titans after Hardik Pandya transferred from the Titans to the Mumbai franchise for a staggering figure. Sunrisers Hyderabad paid Rs 20.5 crore for Pat Cummins in the 2023 IPL auction and named him captain of the side in early March. Rishabh Pant was declared fit to play cricket just before the IPL and Delhi Capitals readily confirmed his return as captain of the side. However, each captain has a huge responsibility to live up to the expectations of their franchise.
The IPL was launched as an eight-team tournament in 2008, but the configuration has changed on multiple occasions as franchises were suspended on corruption charges and either dropped from the tournament or renamed. Cricket’s richest franchise tournament will start with a lot of fanfare this evening with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) begins their title defense at home against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The match will start at 8pm local time (14:30 GMT) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium where five-time champions can expect a ecstatic welcome from the home crowd.
The BCCI has announced the schedule for the first two weeks of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, commencing from March 22, 2024, to April 7, 2024. During the two-week period, 21 matches will be played across 10 cities, with each team playing a minimum of three matches and a maximum of five.
The BCCI will work closely with government and security agencies, following all necessary protocols and advisories related to the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. Since dates for the 18th Lok Sabha elections have been announced, the Board will review and address issues pertaining to the schedule of the first two weeks. Subsequently, the BCCI will work in tandem with local authorities to finalize the schedule for the remainder of the season, counting the polling dates.
It is worthwhile to point out that this will be the third consecutive season that the same 10 teams will play in the league. However, there has been some chopping and changing with a new leader taking charge of the joint most successful team Mumbai Indians. Here are the teams and their captains – Chennai Super Kings: Rituraj Gaekwad; Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant; Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill; Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer; Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul; Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya; Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan; Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson; Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis and Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins.
Let us look back at teams who lifted the IPL Trophy in the past – Chennai Super Kings: 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023; Mumbai Indians: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020; Kolkata Knight Riders: 2012, 2014; Rajasthan Royals: 2008; Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2016; Gujarat Titans: 2022; and Deccan Chargers: 2009.
The most expensive signing of the IPL has been an eye opener. Australia’s Mitchell Starc became the most expensive signing in the history of the IPL was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.98m, followed by Pat Cummins who went for $2.46m by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Before this auction, the record signing was England bowler Sam Curran after he joined Punjab Kings for $2.23m last year.
While the prize money for this year’s IPL has not been confirmed by organizers. However, going by previous years reward, the IPL purse this time around is expected to be around $6m. The 2024 champions could take home approximately $2.4m and runners up $1.56m.
As per schedule each team will play the other nine teams twice, the tournament will be played in a home-and-away format. The venues for the qualifiers, eliminator and final have not been confirmed. Delhi Capitals will play their first two home games at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, while the scenic Dharamsala Stadium in the northern Himachal Pradesh state is also expected to host a few games. So over to MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai for action and excitement between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore to mark the commencement of 2024 IPL season.
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