Daily Times

Virat Kohli against MS Dhoni. For the lucrative Indian Premier League and its billion-plus audience, the head-to-head encounter is a perfect prime time opener for the eight-week season.

The 2024 season begins with the star-studded encounter in Chennai Friday when the defending champion Super Kings host Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Dhoni will be leading Chennai against Kohli and Bengaluru.

Kohli returns to action after missing international cricket for nearly two months – he skipped India´s test series win over England owing to the birth of his second child.

Attention will be also be heavy on Dhoni, who returns from 10 months out. After leading Chennai to its record-equaling fifth IPL title last year, he announced his intention to retire at the end of this upcoming season.

“He (Dhoni) is the greatest-ever captain, and I am very lucky that I have spent some time with him over the years,” Bengaluru skipper Faf du Plessis told host broadcaster Star Sports. “That´s probably the biggest thing in my career, my years at Chennai. It shaped me from a leadership perspective, just observing MS. As a young leader, it was special to my growth.”

Three-time runner-up Bengaluru have never won the IPL title – an oddity for their record-breaking star Kohli. Their women´s team only recently ended the franchise´s trophy drought, winning the 2024 Women´s IPL trophy on Sunday.

Meanwhile, India´s current captain across formats Rohit Sharma has made way for a new skipper at Mumbai Indians. Allrounder Hardik Pandya was brought in through a high-profile player trade with Gujarat Titans in November.

Pandya, who played for five-time champion Mumbai from 2015 to 2021, had signed with Gujarat ahead of IPL 2022. He captained the new franchise to a maiden title that season and they finished runner-up to Chennai in 2023.

Mumbai had won all their five titles under Sharma, the last in 2020. A barren three-year run prompted a first regime change after 11 years, which has sparked backlash among the Mumbai fan base ahead of the new season.

“This team has achieved all its glory under him (Rohit), so it won´t be any different because he will always be there to help me out if I need his help,” Pandya told a pre-season news conference. “From now on, it will just be me carrying forward what he has started.”

Shubman Gill will take over as captain at Gujarat Titans in what will be his first major leadership stint.

In other major news ahead of the IPL season, star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been declared fit for cricket at the highest level.

The 26-year-old Pant has recovered from knee and back injuries in the past 15 months, and ca return to high-profile cricket. He hasn’t played since being in a car accident in December 2022. He will lead the Delhi Capitals´ franchise once again, having previously led them to the IPL 2020 final.

The 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 712 runs against England in the five-test series, will pair up at the top with Jos Buttler for Rajasthan Royals.

Australia´s pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins became the two most expensive IPL players during the auctions held last December.

Starc returns to the IPL for the first time since 2015, when he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Kolkata Knight Riders paid about $3 million for his services for this edition.

Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out nearly $2.5 million for Cummins, who will lead the franchise during this season.