The 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starts on March 22. The first match will be played at Eden Gardens Stadium between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 7.30pm. The opening ceremony will also be held in Kolkata.
Learn about all about the tournament in 16 questions
1. How many teams are participating this time? 10 teams are also participating this season. The BCCI increased the number of teams in 2022. Since then, 10 teams have been playing in this tournament. Before 2022, 8 teams played.
2. Which teams are in which group? 10 teams have been divided into two groups. The team will play 2-2 (home-away) matches with all 4 teams of his group, while he will play one match with two matches and the remaining 4 teams with one team of another group. Like Group-A, Team CSK will play 2-2 matches against KKR, RR, RCB and PBKs in its group. Group-B team will play 2 matches against Mumbai CSK, while they will play 1-1 against Hyderabad, Gujarat, Delhi and Lucknow.
3. How many places will the match be played? The match will be played in 13 places. In addition to the 10 Home Venue, 3 teams have also appointed a subsistent venue.
- Guwahati is the second home ground of Rajasthan Royals (RR). The team will play 2 matches here.
- Dharamsala is the second home ground of Punjab Kings (PBKs). The team will play 3 matches here.
- Visakhapatnam is the second home ground of Delhi Capitals (DC). The team will play 2 matches here.
4. Where will most matches be held? A maximum of 9 matches will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In addition to the team's 7 home matches, there will be 2-2 playoffs here.
- There is a tradition in the IPL that the tournament and the final match are played on the home ground of the previous champion. This time both of these matches will be played at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. Qualifier-2 will also be played in Kolkata on May 23.
- Last season's runner-up team will also be held at two playoffs at the home ground Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Qualifier will be played here on May 20 and the Eliminator will be played on May 21.
5. Did the team change the players even after the auction? Yes, after the mega auction some teams have released replacement of their players for various reasons. Harry Brook moved from the League. Allah Ghazaffar, Lizad Williams and Bradon Carsen were released due to injuries.
6. Will only one match be played in one day? No, there are double header matches on Saturday and Sunday during the league. Double header means two matches a day. This time there will be 12 double headers.
- The first double header of the 18th season will be held on March 23 on the second day of the tournament. SRH and RR will collide at 3.30 pm in Hyderabad. The match between Mumbai and Chennai will be played at 7:30 pm. After this, there will be a double header on March 30.
- Two matches will be played a day on 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 27. The double header will be played on May 4, 11 and 18 in May. All double headers will only be on Saturday or Sunday.
7. When will the Playoff Stage start? The playoff phase of the league will begin on May 20. Qualifier-1 will be played on May 20, Eliminator on May 21, Qualifier-2 on May 23 and final on May 25.
8. Will the Impact Players Rule continue? Yes, the rule of impact players will continue this season. The BCCI decided to continue the Impact Players Rule from 2025 to 2027 following the Governing Council meeting on September 28, 2024. Under the Impact Player Rule, teams can replace the player sitting on the bench during the match. That way, 12 players from one team participate in the match.
9. How many foreigners can play in a team's playing- 11? Only 4 foreign players will be able to play in the playing-11 of one team, the rest of the Indian players will have to give a chance.
10. What if the match is tied? If the match is tied, the result will be determined by the Super Over. If the winner is not decided after the super over, the second super over will be. This will continue until a single team wins the match.
11. What if the match is canceled? If for some reason the match is inconclusive, one point will be shared between the two teams. If the match is closed due to rain, the DLS method will be implemented. This requires 5 overs in the second innings of the league match. While in knockout matches, a 10 -over game is mandatory.
The 2023 final match was played for two days due to rain. CSK won the final by beating Gujarat by 5 wickets.
12. What if the playoff match is canceled? If it rains or matches during the playoff match, the match will be played on Reserve Day. If the decision cannot be made on the Reserve Day, the table topper will qualify for the next round. At the same time, the trophy will be shared if the final match cannot be played on Reserve Day.
13. What will be the big confrontation?
14. Which team has won the most titles? Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have won the highest 5-5 titles. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a defending champion, who won his third title by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in the final in 2024. The team has also become champions in 2012 and 2014. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans have also won the IPL 1 time.
KKR beat SRH by 8 wickets in the final played at Chennai's Chepok Stadium last year.
15. How much money will IPL winning team get? The team, which won the IPL title, received a prize money of Rs 20 crore. The runner-up has to be satisfied with Rs 13 crore. The third -ranked team will get Rs 7 crore and the fourth place will get Rs 6.50 crore.
16. Where can the tournament be seen? The tournament will be aired by Geo TV. Viewers in India can watch the match on TV on Star Sports, Sports 18 and OTT platform Jiohotstar. You will also be able to read live scores, live coverage, Moments, Records, Analysis and Indepth Stories of the tournament on the Atletico de Calcutta app.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).