Spit may not be the most important part of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League but it will come as a relief to under-siege bowlers who have seen scores sky-rocket in recent years with the introduction of the Impact Player and pitches that are flatter than ever.
The use of saliva to shine the ball was banned around the world during the Covid pandemic but the campaign to allow its use once again has finally persuaded the IPL administrators to concede a small advantage to the bowlers who will also have the luxury of a second new ball after the 11th over of the second innings should the umpires agree that there is excessive dew on the outfield.
The use of an Impact Player will, however, continue until at least 2027 despite several teams supporting a return to ‘normal’ with the starting XI remaining unchanged except in the case of concussion substitutes.
Iconic location 😍
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 20, 2025
Iconic trophy 🏆
🔟 captains all in readiness 💪
🥁 Let #TATAIPL 2025 begin 🥁 pic.twitter.com/23Nry0ZSyk
South Africa have no less than 17 players at this edition of the world’s third richest sporting tournament although several may struggle for game-time having been called up as last-minute injury replacements.
Nonetheless for first-timers like Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton, Mathew Breetzke and Corbin Bosch the experience will last a lifetime.
Faf du Plessis, still going strong at the age of 40, joins teammates Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira at Delhi Capitals – his third franchise – while the only team without a South African presence are the Chennai Super Kings.
📸 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗕𝗧𝗦 🤩
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 20, 2025
Wholesome day with the 🔟 #TATAIPL Captains before what promises to be a rollercoaster journey ahead🎢 pic.twitter.com/Im4miVZkV3
The tournament kicks off on Saturday with defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, hosting Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens beginning at the usual time of 7:30pm local time (4pm CAT) with a double-header on Sunday when Sunrisers Hyderabad host Rajasthan Royals in the afternoon with Mumbai Indians travelling to Chennai Super Kings who share 10 titles between them.
Mumbai have not won their opening game for the last 12 years.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad
Indian Stars: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda
Overseas Players: Rachin Ravindra (NZ), Sam Curran (Eng), Devon Conway (NZ), Jamie Overton (Eng), Nathan Ellis (Aus), Noor Ahmad (Afg), Matheesha Pathirana,
South Africans: None
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Captain: Ajinkya Rahane
Indian Stars: Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy,
Overseas Players: Rovman Powell (WI), Moeen Ali (Eng), Sunil Narine (WI), Andre Russell (WI), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afg), Spencer Johnson (Aus)
South Africans: Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Captain: Sanju Samson
Indian Stars: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag
Overseas Players: Shimron Hetmyer (WI), Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afg), Maheesh Theekshana (SL), Jofra Archer (Eng)
South Africans: Kwena Maphaka
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Captain: Pat Cummins (Aus)
Indian Stars: Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat
Overseas Players: Travis Head (Aus), Kamind Mendis (SL), Adam Zampa (Aus), Eshan Malinga (SL), Devon Conway (NZ), Eshan Malinga (SL)
South Africans: Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU:
Captain: Rajat Patidar
Indian Stars: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Overseas Players: Tim David (Aus), Liam Livingstone (Eng), Jacob Bethell (Eng), Romario Shepherd (WI), Phil Salt (Eng), Josh Hazlewood (Aus), Nuwan Thushara (SL),
South Africans: Lungi Ngidi.
DELHI CAPITALS
Captain: Axar Patel
Indian Stars: Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav
Overseas Players: Jake Fraser-McGurk (Aus), Dushmantha CHameera (SL), Mitchell Starc (Aus),
South Africans: Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira
PUNJAB KINGS
Captain: Shreyas Iyer
Indian Stars: Praveen Dubey, Prabhsimran Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh,
Overseas Players: Marcus Stoinis (Aus), Glenn Maxwell (Aus), Aaron Hardie (Aus), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afg), Josh Inglis (Aus), Lockie Ferguson (NZ), Xavier Bartlett (Aus)
South Africans: Marco Jansen
MUMBAI INDIANDS
Captain: Hardik Pandya
Indian Stars: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah
Overseas Players: Will Jacks (Eng), Micthell Santner (NZ), Bevon Jacobs (NZ), Reece Topley (Eng), Trent Boult (NZ), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afg)
South Africans: Corbin Bosch, Ryan Rickelton
GUJARAT TITANS
Captain: Shubman Gill
Indian Stars: Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Overseas Players: Glenn Phillips (NZ), Sherfane Rutherford (WI), Rashid Khan (Afg), Jos Buttler (Eng), Karim Janat (Afg)
South Africans: Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS
Captain: Rishabh Pant
Indian Stars: Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi,Akash Deep,
Overseas Players: Mitchell Marsh (Aus), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Shamar Joseph (WI),
South Africans: David Miller, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke.