IPL 2025: Captains' meet and photoshoot to take place in Mumbai despite season-opener in Kolkata – Firstpost

The captains of all 10 teams will gather in Mumbai on Thursday for an important pre-season meeting with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ahead of the Indian Premier League. The meeting will take place two days before the 18th season of the IPL gets underway with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders facing Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener nearly 2,000 kilometres away in Kolkata.
According to Cricbuzz, the meeting – for which managers of all 10 franchises have also been invited – will be taking place at the BCCI headquarters in the ‘Maximum City’. It is expected to last an hour and will essentially be a briefing for the franchises on the new additions and changes for the upcoming season, and will be followed by sponsor activities at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
The entire event, including the meeting at the Cricket Centre, is expected to last four hours and will conclude with the customary photoshoot featuring the 10 captains.
The captains’ photoshoot usually takes place in the city that hosts the first match of the season. Chennai had hosted the event last year ahead of the opening game of the 17th season between then-defending champions Chennai Super Kings and RCB.
The fact that it is taking place close to the BCCI’s headquarters instead of Kolkata certainly comes as a surprise.
Several teams have undergone a change in leadership following the mega auction that took place in Jeddah in November, with middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer joining Punjab Kings as their captain after getting released by KKR despite leading the ‘Purple Brigade’ to their third title. The Knight Riders have since named Ajinkya Rahane their captain for the upcoming season.
Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals, meanwhile have had an indirect exchange of sorts after being led by Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul respectively last season. While LSG have brought Pant on board as their new skipper for a record sum of Rs 27 crore, DC have signed Rahul for Rs 14 crore. The wicketkeeper-batter, however, declined to lead the Capitals, resulting in all-rounder Axar Patel getting the role.
Rajat Patidar, meanwhile, will be leading RCB in the upcoming season after franchise parted ways with Faf du Plessis, who has been named DC vice-captain.
Mumbai Indians (Hardik Pandya), Chennai Super Kings (Ruturaj Gaikwad), Rajasthan Royals (Sanju Samson), Gujarat Titans (Shubman Gill) and 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (Pat Cummins) will have the same captain as the 2024 season.
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