The blue blooded Mumbai Indians led by one of the finest captains of world cricket - Ricky Ponting and the ably guided by world's best batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, the fiercely competitive Chennai Super Kings, whose captain, M.S Dhoni strikes fear in the minds of bowlers the world over, the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, led by the resilient Gautam Gambhir and spearheaded by McCullum, Bret Lee and Jacques Kallis, the Nawabs of Delhi - the Delhi Daredevils, flagged by Kevin Peterson, David Warner and Virender Sehwag, the Kings XI Punjab, who have not exactly been in roaring form but with Adam Gilchirist at the helm, can't really be put off, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captained by India's most dependable batsman of current times - Virat Kolhi and along with the orange cap holder of 2012 edition, swashbuckler Chris Gayle, who can tear and rip apart any opposition on any day and reduce them to tears, the prolific AB de Villiers and spin maestro Muttian Murlitaran, they can prove too hot to handle; the Pune Warriors India, still new to the IPl but can spring a surprise or two with Micheal Clark and Yuvraj Singh in their arsenal, the Rajastan Royals, winners of the inaugural IPL, ready to prove their mettle once again with Shane Watson, Shaun Tait and Rahul Dravid forming the backbone of the team, and finally Sunrisers Hyderabad, debuting this year, IPL 2013 promises to make you go wild. With its copious dose of Bollywood and razzmatazz of tinsel town, along with super sixes and dashing fours, life will not not be same this April. In your face football fans!
IPL 2013 begins with a bang! The grand and majestic Opening Ceremony is as big as it can get! The Opening Ceremony in Salt Lake Stadium on 2nd April, will feature Live performances from a medley of international artists including music sensation Pitbull along with Flying drummers, Chinese percussionists, awesome fireworks and some of the biggest Indian film stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone.
IPL begins with a nerve wracking encounter between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils in the historic Eden Gardens, Kolkata followed by another interesting tie between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Chinnaswamy Stadium on 4th April. Catch all the action live 8 pm on wards!
There is already a great buzz surrounding this IPL. For one it's the Pepsi IPL, not the DLF IPL that we are accustomed to! But more than that it is the squad of Mumbai Indians which has a billion cricket lovers feverishly excited. Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, the finest, the best and the most prolific batsmen of modern times in the same team - unbelievable. But this is the magic of the IPL - it brings players from around the world together, transcending all boundaries, religion, caste, creed, nationality. Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Smith, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, apart from the two legends above, and others make up my favorite team in the IPL - Mumbai Indians. What's yours?
So Stay Calm and Watch the IPL!