Defending Champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens on March 22. The following day i.e Sunday will be a double-header where last year's runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will host Rajasthan Royals in the first match while the second match will see the five-time Champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) continuing their rivalry at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. MI and CSK will lock horns twice in the season, with the return fixture scheduled on April 20 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The final of the marquee event will be played at the Eden Gardens on May 25. The Eliminator and Qualifier 1 will be played on May 20 and 21 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad while Qualifier 2 will be played at the Eden Gardens.

A total of 74 matches will be played across 13 venues: the ten traditional home venues, Guwahati (the second venue for Rajasthan Royals), Dharamsala (the second venue for Punjab Kings) and Vizag (the second home venue for Delhi Capitals).

Meanwhile, the squads for all 10 teams are locked in. The franchises shuffled their squads during the mega auction that took place in November last year. The teams were allowed to retain a maximum of six players, including the Right-To-Match option. Rishabh Pant emerged as the most expensive player after he was roped in by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 28 crore. LSG also named Pant their captain for the 2025 edition. Similarly, Punjab Kings (PBKS) shelled out 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer. Like Pant, Iyer was named the captain of PBKS.

So far, only Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are yet to name their captains. KL Rahul is the front runner to lead the DC in IPL 2025 while Ajinka Rahane could be the potential leader for KKR.

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