IPL 2025 is set to begin on March 22 © BCCI/IPL March 22 Hello, everyone! The IPL season is back and so are we with the Cricbuzz Pulse to keep you updated with all the latest news, interviews and features from IPL 2025! Whether you’ve watched the evening games or not, for the next two months, we have you covered with all the action from the world of the Indian Premier League. The season kicks off at the Eden Gardens, the home venue of the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, as they face off with familiar foes Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Both teams have announced new captains for this season, Ajinkya Rahane and Rajat Patidar, and there will be a point to prove. Pratyush Sinha, our reporter at the venue expects a run fest in the opener, but rain threat looms large. Meanwhile, Ganesh Chandrasekaran has a look at RCB’s chances this season, the fresh set of players, the new captain and the possible XII they could play. Don’t be surprised if the biggest draw for the opening encounter of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens would be a man from the visiting team, Virat Kohli. A man who no longer plays T20 internationals. Who is no longer the RCB captain. For a format that rarely lets players age gracefully, Kohli is still here and still central to his team’s season. And he still fusses over the little things. Pratyush details Kohli’s practice stint on a rainy day. In case you’ve missed it, there are some changes to the playing rules in IPL 2025. Firstly, the saliva ban has been lifted. It had come into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, to counter the effect of dew, a second ball will be used from the 11th over of the second innings. Here’s a brief explainer to understand how this ball change rule will work. It’s a move that both Andy Flower and Varun Chakaravarthy see merit in. Hardik Pandya, the captain of Mumbai Indians will miss their tournament opener, after he was handed a one-match ban for slow rate in the last game of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side in his presence. However, starting from this season, such match bans won’t be handed away so easily for slow over-rate.
