The 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL), the 10th edition of the cash-rich Twenty20 competition, will begin with its first opening ceremony and the opening match in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Defending champions Sunrisers host Royal Challengers Bangalore following what is expected to be a spectacular show, the first of eight in all.
Every city hosting the 2017 edition of the IPL―Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Pune and Rajkot―will receive its own ceremony to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the competition.
Things kick off on Wednesday, but due to the eight total shows, little information is available about each individual performance. What can be guaranteed, however, after previous ceremonies that were high on glitz is that several Bollywood stars will be taking part.
India’s cricket legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman are odds-on to make an appearance in Hyderabad on Wednesday ahead of the IPL opener. However, other than that, nothing is truly certain as plenty of rumours of
Hyderabad, under David Warner, are heavy favourites to take the opener as RCB are still coming to terms with injuries to star players Virat Kohli and and AB de Villiers. Both batsmen have been ruled out of Wednesday’s clash and Shane Watson has been announced as the interim captain in their stead.
The ceremony starts at 6.30 PM IST on Wednesday and viewers in India can watch it live on Set Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.