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KOLKATA, India :Royal Challengers Bengaluru made an auspicious start in their latest bid to lift a maiden Indian Premier League trophy as Virat Kohli and Phil Salt ensured a seven-wicket win over holders Kolkata Knight Riders in Saturday's season opener.
A transformed Ajinkya Rahane dazzled on his Kolkata Knight Riders captaincy debut with a 25-ball fifty, but Krunal Pandya's game-changing three wicket burst ensured that the defending champions fell well short of the 200-mark, managing a below-par 174 for 8 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL opener on Saturday. The 36-year-old veteran, who last played a T20I for India in 2016 and replaced Shreyas Iyer at the helm, played a fearless knock of 56 off 31 balls.
The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin from Saturday, March 22, with the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens. However, the season opener is now under the looming threat of rain, with weather conditions in Kolkata posing a significant challenge. With the city placed under an Orange Alert by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), concerns are growing over whether the blockbuster opener will proceed as scheduled.
The Indian Premier League (IPL-2025) has sanctioned the use of Hawk-Eye technology to assess wides outside the off-stump and above the batter's head, eliminating subjectivity in umpiring decisions, with the ruling being conveyed to all ten captains during a pre-season meeting in Mumbai on Thursday ahead of the tournament's commencement on March 22, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. The same technology that was used to assess over-the-waist no-balls in IPL 2024 will now be implemented for over-the-head wides. The ball-tracking technology, which includes Hawk-Eye, will evaluate the ball's height as it crosses the batter at the popping crease and compare it to the batter's toe-to-head height in an upright stance.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season as the reigning champions, having pulled off arguably the most dominant campaign in IPL history in 2024. Despite the hurdle of their mega auction, most of KKR's title-winning core has remained. However, some big changes have also taken place. Gautam Gambhir now wears blue, not purple. So does Abhishek Nayar, who was instrumental in nurturing the team's Indian core. And most importantly, while captaincy has been handed to capable hands, it isn't someone of the KKR mould.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra has expressed concerns over Ajinkya Rahane's appointment as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. KKR CEO Venky Mysore explained the reason behind the decision, saying that Rahane's IPL captaincy experience made him the automatic choice to lead the team this season. Mysore also explained that Venkatesh Iyer, who was the other candidate to lead the team, will be part of the leadership, hinting at future opportunities for the all-rounder.
Rishabh Pant is among the top keeper-batters in the world for the manner in which he scores runs, feels former West Indies skipper Denesh Ramdin, who is here to play the International Masters League T20 tournament. "Obviously, Rishabh Pant is one—he's unique in the way he bats and scores runs. There's a young guy from Australia, Josh Inglis—he did well in the Champions Trophy. There are many young keepers coming through," Ramdin was quoted as saying in a press release. The 40-year-old, who played 71 Tests, 139 ODIs and 74 T20Is, feels that role of keepers have evolved over the years since Adam Gilchrist came into prominence.
Major League Cricket (MLC) franchises have announced their retained players ahead of the third season's draft, set to take place on February 19. Several star players, including Australia's Travis Head and Pat Cummins, along with South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and David Miller, were not retained, ESPNCricinfo reported. Defending champions Washington Freedom retained 15 players, the most by any team, but let go of Head, their joint-highest run-getter alongside captain Steve Smith with 336 runs each. The franchise also let go of bowlers Akeal Hosein and Andrew Tye, who took two and five wickets each last season, as per ESPNCricinfo.