MUMBAI: The 2018 Indian Premier League opening ceremony will be held on April 7, ahead of the season’s first IPL fixture pitting defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, the two-time champions, who are returning to the league after serving a two-year suspension.
The decision to hold the ceremony on the same day as the first IPL game of the season, instead of on April 6, as too the decision to move the venue from the Cricket Club of India (CCI) to Wankhede Stadium, was done at the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators’ (CoA) behest.
The call to reduce the budget by Rs 200 million, too, was taken by the CoA. “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,” a Board of Control for Cricket in India functionary told newswire PTI.
The Wankhede will also play host to the IPL final, which will be played on May 27.
