The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will get underway at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 31 with the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) taking on MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opener. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling over organising an opening ceremony for the T20 league for the first time since COVID-19 pandemic.
The IPL will return to the ‘home-and-away’ format as well after the pandemic this year with the 10 teams divided into two groups for the 70 league fixtures. According to a report on Insidesport website, actresses Rashmika Mandanna and Tamannaah Bhatia will be performing in the IPL 2023 opening ceremony and will add to the glam factor of the occasion.
It is expected that the opening ceremony will begin around 730pm IST on March 31 ahead of the opener and the match will begin around half an hour later just like the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 opener last month.
“Yes, there will be an opening ceremony on the 31st. It will be a short one but as the home and away format returns, we felt it was necessary to welcome back the home crowd with a ceremony,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport website.
Just heard the exciting news that #RashmikaMandanna and #TamannahBhatia are set to perform at the opening ceremony of #IPL _ Can’t wait to see these talented actresses light up the stage __ #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/UIIIG4jj7P
— KARTHIK DP (@dp_karthik) March 22, 2023
The first-ever WPL also witnessed a glamourous opening ceremony with Bollywood stars Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani and Punjabi pop sensation AP Dhillon performing at the event. The BCCI are hoping that several Bollywood A-list stars will be attending the IPL 2023 opening ceremony.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI decided not to organise an opening ceremony before IPL 2019 in the aftermath of Pulwama attack. A total of 70 league-stage matches will be played across 12 venues over the course of 52 days.
Teams will play 7 home games and 7 away games respectively in the league stage. Each team will face the other four teams in the same group twice. They will also face off against the five other teams once each.