IPL 2025 to begin on March 23, says BCCI vice-prez Rajeev Shukla; date for Champions Trophy squad announcement revealed
Rajeev Shukla revealed the date for India's Champions Trophy squad announcement, and also confirmed the IPL 2025 begins March 23.
The highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will kick off on March 23, as confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla. Speaking to media on Sunday following BCCI's general meeting, Shukla revealed the starting date of the tournament.
In addition to the announcement about the IPL's start date, the BCCI meeting held on January 12 saw key decisions made regarding the administration of Indian cricket. Shukla revealed that Devajit Saikia will replace Jay Shah as the new BCCI secretary, while Prabhtej Singh Bhatia is elected as the BCCI treasurer.
He further stated that the meeting for Champions Trophy squads will take place betwen January 18-19, and that the venues for the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL) will be announced soon, too.
There have been conflicting reports over the start date of IPL, though, as ESPNCricinfo has reported that the tournament will instead begin on March 21. PTI, too, have quoted a source inside the BCCI, stating that the tournament may begin from ‘March 20 or 21’.
On Saturday, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir were part of the review meeting following India's poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where the side conceded a 1-3 loss Down Under. The series preceded another 0-3 clean-sweep loss at home to New Zealand.
"There was a detailed discussion on the Border Gavaskar Trophy performance and what all went wrong and the course correction required. But do not expect a hurried decision from the new dispensation of BCCI," a source privy to developments in the Board told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
IPL auction held in November last year
The IPL 2025 mega auction was held in November last year in Jeddah to significant attention, with a total of 182 players sold for a staggering ₹639.15 crore. The auction was dominated by marquee players, with Rishabh Pant becoming the most expensive player in IPL history after being sold for ₹27 crore.
Other notable names such as Shreyas Iyer ( ₹26.75 crore) and Venkatesh Iyer ( ₹23.75 crore) also attracted substantial bids, while players like David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Shardul Thakur went unsold.
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