IPL 2018: CoA changes the schedule and budget for the opening ceremony

The much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) is almost a month away from its commencement as the eight teams will fight it out for the ultimate glory. The 11th edition is expected to be better and a grand event with all the franchises overhauling their teams at the IPL auction which took place in January. The first match of the season will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. However, Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators has made some changes regarding the ceremony of the tournament.

Every year, BCCI organizes a grand opening ceremony before the start of the tournament. In 2017, they changed the trend and the event took place at each venue before it hosted its first game of the T20 extravaganza. However, they came back to the norm and have decided to arrange only a solitary opening ceremony on April 6, one day before the commencement of Indian T20 league, at Cricket Club of India (CCI).

What are the changes?

CoA has decided that the opening ceremony of the IPL will be held at Wankhede Stadium on the match day (April 7) before the first match begins. “Earlier the opening ceremony was scheduled for April 6 at the Cricket Club of India. Now it has been decided by the CoA that it will happen on April 7 at Wankhede before the 2018 IPL opener,” the BCCI official told Indian Express on Monday.

He also added that the budget for the ceremony was also reduced by the committee. “Earlier the budget for the opening ceremony was Rs 50 crore (approved by the IPL governing council), now it has been reduced to Rs 30 crore. This call, too, has been taken by the CoA,” the official added.

Despite the change in the opening ceremony, the schedule of the IPL announced earlier will not be changed.

Keep following CricTracker for more updates on IPL.