The much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) schedule is announced and it will be Mumbai Indians (MI) locking horns with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the inaugural match. The IPL 2018 opener will see defending champions taking on two-time champions at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai on April 7. The cash-rich cricketing league will span across two months and is scheduled to end on May 27.

The 2018 IPL will feature a 60-match bonanza for the cricket fans and will be played across 9 venues. The opening ceremony of the 11th VIVO IPL will take place in Mumbai on April 6. There was a controversy about match timings being shifted from the usual 4 p.m. starts to 5.30 p.m. and from the regular 8 p.m. starts to 7 p.m. However, the schedule posted on the IPL website suggests that there won’t be any changes in the time schedule.

The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will see Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings side return to IPL fold after a hiatus of two years. It will be interesting to see Dhoni lead the yellow franchise, again, after a gap of two years. It will be delighting for the fans to see former Australian captain being the Head Coach of Delhi Daredevils team, whereas the former South African great Jacques Kallis will be the Head Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders.

The tournament will be played in the double round robin format. The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams will compete with each other (in Qualifier 1) for a direct entry in the Final. The other two teams will compete (in Eliminator 1) to play against the losing team of Qualifier 1. Then, the winning team of Eliminator 1 will play against the losing team of Qualifier 1 (in Eliminator 2) for an entry in the final.

Watch Time Table of 2018 Indian Premier League; Match Schedule, Time, and Participating Teams:

The VIVO IPL Auction sprung up a lot of surprises this year. Usually known to be conservative buyers, Rajasthan Royals was the franchise who bagged the two most expensive players from the IPL Auction this year. Ben Stokes emerged as the highest-paid player in the auction, being bought for 12.5 Cr, followed by Jaydev Unadkat, who was bought for 11.5 Cr. Other notable signings in the IPL Auction 2018 were Manish Pandey (SunRisers Hyderabad), KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab), Chris Lynn and Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2018 10:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).