NEW DELHI: The money-spinning Indian Premier League will begin on March 22 with holders Kolkata Knight Riders to host Royal Challengers Bengaluru, India’s cricket board said Sunday.
Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens will be the venue for the opener and the final on May 25 with 74 matches to be played across 13 venues in the 18th edition of the hugely popular T20 tournament.
Ten teams will compete for the title as the world’s top cricketers including Indian star Virat Kohli, Australia’s Pat Cummins and Jos Buttler of England will join their respective teams in India’s searing heat.
The IPL auction for this edition shattered records as Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player when he was sold for a record $3.2 million to Lucknow Super Giants, who later made him captain.
Shreyas Iyer, a title-winning skipper with Kolkata last season, was picked by Punjab Kings for 267.5 million rupees ($3.17 million) as the second-most expensive buy.
The IPL has generated billions in revenue since its inception in 2008, turning the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.
The pioneering IPL helped make T20 cricket more popular, spawning copycat events worldwide.
India’s IPL to begin on March 22 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens
https://arab.news/rutbd
India’s IPL to begin on March 22 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens
- The iconic Eden Gardens will be the venue for the tournament’s final on May 25, with 74 matches to be played across 13 venues
- The IPL auction for this edition shattered records as Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player
Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz gets Champions League ban cut after reckless foul on PSG’s Achraf Hakimi
- UEFA said Friday that Díaz’s appeal on the charge of “serious rough play” was upheld
- That means he still misses Bayern’s Champions League game at home to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday
NYON: Bayern Munich forward Luis Díaz has had his three-game Champions League ban reduced to two on appeal following his reckless foul on Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi.
UEFA said Friday that Díaz’s appeal on the charge of “serious rough play” was upheld, without specifying why.
That means he still misses Bayern’s Champions League game at home to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday but he can return against Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise next month.
Díaz scored twice before being sent off in an eventful 2-1 win against PSG last month. He made a wild lunge from behind and Hakimi’s left leg appeared to be momentarily trapped before he fell.
Díaz still has to serve more than the mandatory minimum one-game sanction for a red card, unlike Cristiano Ronaldo.
In an unusual decision last month, FIFA gave the Portuguese superstar a three-game ban, but with two suspended for a probationary period, over a serious foul-play incident against Ireland last month. That means he will likely avoid missing any games at the start of his record sixth World Cup next year.
