Cricket’s biggest carnival, the Indian Premier League, is set to kick off its 18th season (will this finally be the year of Ee Sala Cup Namde? 🤞). It has already caught our attention even before its commencement, thanks to the Mega IPL Auction, which has significantly reshuffled teams and introduced five new captains. This means the season will not only renew existing team rivalries but also give birth to new ones. With just hours left until the most exciting IPL season begins, here’s your ultimate IPL 2025 preview.
Top Picks in IPL Mega Auction
- Rishabh Pant topped the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, with Lucknow Super Giants purchasing the wicketkeeper-batsman for Rs 27 crore. After playing for Delhi Capitals, he will now lead LSG in IPL 2025.
- Coming in second is Shreyas Iyer, who was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 26.75 crore, while third place went with Venkatesh Iyer, who remained with KKR after being acquired for Rs 23.75 crore.
- Punjab Kings didn’t stop at Shreyas Iyer, as they also spent big on Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, securing both for Rs 18 crore each, making them the most expensive bowlers of IPL 2025. Notably, Punjab used the Right to Match (RTM) card for Arshdeep, outbidding Sunrisers Hyderabad at the auction.
- Jos Buttler became the most expensive international player of IPL 2025, purchased by Gujarat Titans for Rs 15.75 crore. He was followed by Trent Boult, Jofra Archer, and Josh Hazlewood, who were acquired for Rs 12.50 crore each by Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, respectively.
- Other major buys at the auction include KL Rahul for Rs 14 crore and Mitchell Starc for Rs 11.75 crore, both acquired by Delhi Capitals. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans spent big on Mohammad Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, purchasing them for Rs 12.25 crore and Rs 10.75 crore, respectively. Ishan Kishan became Sunrisers Hyderabad’s biggest-money signing at Rs 11.25 crore.
IPL 2025 Team Breakdown and New Signings
- The most reorganized team of IPL 2025 is Punjab Kings, with 22 new players, including captain Shreyas Iyer and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.Â
- Meanwhile, the least reshuffled team of IPL 2025 is Kolkata Knight Riders, with 13 new players, including the likes of Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, and Spencer Johnson.
- The five new captains for IPL 2025 are Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Rajat Patidar.
Let’s take a look at the team-wise squad breakdown and some of their prominent new signings for each team.
Chennai Super Kings
- For IPL 2025, CSK is sticking with their core trio of MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, while also retaining Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana.
- Ravichandran Ashwin is making his comeback to the Yellow Army after last playing for them in 2015. CSK has also picked another local talent, Vijay Shankar, for its eighteenth IPL season.Â
- Some of the standout new signings include Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Jamie Overton, and Sam Curran, who returns to CSK after spending two seasons with PBKS.
- Nathan Ellis, Anshul Kamboj, Rahul Tripathi, and Gurjapneet Singh are the CSK players to watch this season.
Delhi Capitals
- Known as the underdogs of the IPL, Delhi Capitals will enter this year’s tournament with Axar Patel as captain, who has been with the team for quite some time now.
- They made headlines in the Mega Auction by picking KL Rahul, a major replacement for Rishabh Pant, as the wicketkeeper-batsman left the side for LSG. Delhi also used the Right to Match (RTM) card to retain Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is a crucial part of their batting lineup. They have also retained Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abishek Porel.
- Meanwhile, the signings of Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, and Mohit Sharma will strengthen their pace attack. Other notable signings include Faf du Plessis, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, and Harry Brook; however, Brook has withdrawn from IPL 2025.
Gujrat Titans
- Champions in their inaugural season and runners-up in their second, Gujarat Titans will enter this year’s IPL with some of the most high-profile foreign players. They bought Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Sherfane Rutherford, Gerald Coetzee, and Glenn Phillips in the Mega Auction, while Rashid Khan was retained.
- Shubman Gill will lead the side for the second time and is the youngest captain among all skippers in this year’s IPL.
- Other notable players in the Gujarat Titans squad for IPL 2025 include Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, and Ishant Sharma.
Kolkata Knight Riders
- After winning last year, KKR will have a new look for IPL 2025, with Ajinkya Rahane as captain. He returns to the side after last playing for them in 2022.
- They were successful in purchasing key players like Venkatesh Iyer and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, while also retaining Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Harshit Rana, making them the team with the most retention.
- Prominent new signings include Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, and Umran Malik, who will be replaced by Chetan Sakariya due to injury.
Lucknow Super Giants
- Going all-in on Rishabh Pant, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will be looking to build around his star power as they aim for a playoff spot this season.
- Apart from him, some other big-money retention for LSG include Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi, while Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan also remain with the team. Players to watch for LSG this season include David Miller, Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Akash Deep, and Mitchell Marsh.
- LSG also secured some notable young talents, including Matthew Breetzke, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, and Aryan Juyal, for this year’s IPL.
Mumbai Indians
- Mumbai Indians did not have the kind of season we usually expect from such a successful franchise in 2024. Last year, they appointed Hardik Pandya as captain, and this year, they continue to stick with their strategy of signing promising young talent from across the country.
- For IPL 2025, this emerging pool of players in MI includes Robin Minz, who is a standout prospect to watch. Additionally, Naman Dhir is expected to break into the playing XI.
- With Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, and Reece Topley, MI has assembled a formidable bowling attack, while Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks will provide the team with explosive batting power.
Punjab Kings
- Moving on to Punjab Kings, a team renowned for scouting top-tier players, with a major overhaul every year, this season they continue their trend of signing the most number of new players for IPL 2025.
- The only players Punjab retained were Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, both uncapped, while they used the Right to Match (RTM) card for Arshdeep Singh.
- Major signings for Punjab Kings include their new captain, Shreyas Iyer, along with Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, and Glenn Maxwell, who makes a comeback to the franchise after four seasons.
- Some standout young talents joining Punjab Kings include Nehal Wadhera and Priyansh Arya, both of whom were bought for around ₹4 crore in the auction. Meanwhile, foreign signings like Josh Inglis, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Lockie Ferguson also bolster the squad.
Rajasthan Royals
- Among the least altered teams, Rajasthan Royals, under the captaincy of Sanju Samson, will aim to secure a playoff berth this season.
- Prominent new signings for RR in the auction include Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, and Nitish Rana.
- Along with their skipper Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sandeep Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Shimron Hetmyer are among their retained players for IPL 2025. Notably, Riyan Parag will lead the side for the first three games for RR.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
- With one of the most loyal fanbases in the IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming to win this year’s tournament.
- With Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar, they have an explosive batting lineup, which will be crucial for securing victories in their home matches.
- For their pace attack, they have gone with Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Lungi Ngidi, while also retaining Yash Dayal.
- In terms of all-rounders, Krunal Pandya will likely be the first-choice pick, while Jacob Bethell or Romario Shepherd could be used as an Impact Player substitute.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Last year, under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished as runners-up, and they aim to build on this momentum in IPL 2025 as well.
- They spent the most money retaining Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma, and Travis Head, while Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Shami, and Harshal Patel were their top auction picks.
- Young prodigy Nitish Kumar Reddy is a player to watch out for in the Sunrisers squad. Meanwhile, Adam Zampa, Eshan Malinga, Kamindu Mendis, and Brydon Carse are the international players to keep an eye on.
IPL 2025 Schedule and Venues
- Thirteen stadiums will host 74 matches of IPL 2025, with Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, and Punjab Kings also hosting games at three neutral venues as their second home grounds.
- The season will commence on March 22, 2025, with reigning champions KKR facing RCB in their opening match. Meanwhile, the Playoffs will begin on May 20, 2025, with the Final set to take place on May 25, 2025, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
- This season will feature 12 double-headers, with the first showdown between five-time winners Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians scheduled for March 23. RCB will face CSK twice, with the first South Indian derby on March 28 and the second at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 3.
- Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala will serve as second home grounds for the teams mentioned above.
- You can check out the full schedule here.
IPL 2025 Format
- In the group stage, each franchise will play against the teams within its group and the team in the same row from the other group twice, while facing the remaining teams once.
- These groups have been determined based on the number of times a team has won the championship, reached the finals, and qualified for the playoffs.
- For example, CSK and MI are in different groups, but they will face each other twice as they are in the same row. Meanwhile, MI, SRH, GT, DC, and LSG are in the same group and will play against each other twice. However, except for MI, no other team from this group will face CSK twice.
- Following the conclusion of the group stage, the top four teams in the points table qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams compete in Qualifier 1, while the third and fourth-placed teams face off in Qualifier 2. The winner of Qualifier 1 advances directly to the final, while the loser drops to the Eliminator, where the team faces the winner of Qualifier 2. Ultimately, the winner of the Eliminator secures a spot in the final for the title clash.
Where to watch IPL 2025
TV broadcast rights for the eighteenth season of IPL have been awarded to Star Sports, while the digital streaming partner for IPL 2025 is JioHotstar. Jio is also offering customized plans that you can explore while recharging for your Jio SIM. You can also check out all the latest JioHotstar plans here.
Ending Note
The excitement for this year’s IPL is at an all-time high! With significant reshuffling and star-studded squads, this season promises countless unforgettable moments. Will RCB finally break its curse, or will CSK or MI add another trophy to their championship tally?
Get ready with your predictions, and don’t forget to share this blog to challenge your friends’ takes!
The images used in this blog are sourced from the official Indian Premier League website and are the property of BCCI.