IPL Season - 10 begins tonight

Cricket buffs across the world will be glued to their television sets as the 10th edition of  the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks-off at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) taking on last year’s runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore  (RCB) this evening. All eyes will be on the Afghan cricketers Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan, who are playing the IPL for the first time. The duo was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad during the players’ auction. This being the 10th edition of IPL, the organisers are preparing for big celebrations. IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla announced that unlike past editions, the 10th edition will not exclude any fan from the celebrations as the league plans to host eight different opening ceremonies, one before the first home game of each franchise. Bollywood stars have entertained cricket fans at the start of each IPL season with the likes of Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan having performed in the opening ceremonies in the previous editions. Today’s opening ceremony in Hyderabad will witness actress Amy Jackson performing to some Bollywood numbers. Riteish Deshmukh will perform at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium tomorrow before RPS takes on MI and Tiger Shroff will perform at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium before Gujarat Lions takess on KKR on Apr. 7. However, there is conformation about the stars performing at Holkar Stadium in Indore and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Apr. 8 and at Wankhade Stadium on Apr. 9. Meanwhile, to make the IPL more exciting, the tournament committee has roped-in former international cricketers like Sanjay Manjrekar, Scott Styris, Ravi Shastri, Pommie Mbangwa, Sunil Gavaskar, Simon Doull, L Siva, Anjum Chopra, Danny Morrison, Isa Guha, Michael Hussey, Lisa Sthalekar, Matthew Hayden, Melanie Jones, Micheal Clarke, Murali Kartik, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen, Brendon Julien and Daren Ganga who will be sharing their expert views from the commentary box. This apart, Sony Max, which is the broadcast partner of Indian Premier League released a special anthem ’Das Saal Aapke Naam’ to mark the 10th year of IPL. The tittle song, which celebrates the decade of the tournament, is composed by music composers Salim-Sulaiman and the anthem is sung by Benny Dayal.