2025 Indian Premier League

The 2025 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 18 and branded as TATA IPL 2025, is the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League. The tournament features ten teams competing in 74 matches from 22 March to 25 May 2025. It is being held across 13 cities in India, with Kolkata hosting the opening ceremony and the final as the Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions.
The Indian Premier League is a franchise Twenty20 cricket league held in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is held annually since the first edition in 2008. Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions, having won their third title in the previous season after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.
Each team plays twice against the teams in their group and the team in the same row in the other group, and once against the remaining four teams in the other group. After the group stage, the top four teams based on aggregate points qualify for the playoffs. In this stage, the top two teams compete with each other (in a match titled "Qualifier 1"), as do the remaining two teams (in a match titled "Eliminator"). While the winner of Qualifier 1 directly qualifies for the final match, the losing team competes against the winning team of the Eliminator match (in a match titled "Qualifier 2"). The winner of this subsequent Qualifier 2 match moves on to the final match. The IPL Governing Council decided to keep the number of matches to 74 for this edition as it was in the previous three seasons to help the cricketers balance their workload, however it will be increased to 84 for the next two seasons.
A rules change for this edition means that the league will follow the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Code of Conduct regulations used for Twenty20 International matches. The IPL had previously used its own Code of Conduct.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the dates of the tournament window for the three seasons between 2025 and 2027 were sent to franchises ahead of the 2025 auction. In November 2024, the tentative dates for the three seasons were announced, with the 2025 edition set to take place from 14 March to 25 May. In January 2025, it was announced that the 2025 season would commence on 21 March to allow for a two-week gap after the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final scheduled to take place on 9 March. This led to a clash with the 2025 Pakistan Super League taking place from 11 April to 25 May 2025, which was moved from its typical February-March window for the same reason.
The first two matches were confirmed by the BCCI on 13 February 2025, with the inaugural match being hosted at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata between the three-time defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 22 March 2025. The complete fixtures were announced on 16 February. The last group match will be played between Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 18 May 2025 at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. It is announced that both Qualifier 1 and Eliminator would be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad from 20 to 21 May, and that Qualifier 2 and final would be played in Kolkata, with the venue hosting its third IPL final after 2013 and 2015.
Disney Star's Star Sports and Viacom18's JioCinema had initially acquired the satellite and digital broadcasting rights for the 2023–2027 IPL cycle. In November 2024, the two companies merged to form JioStar. In February 2025, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar merged to form JioHotstar, which now holds the domestic digital broadcasting rights for the remainder of the 2023–2027 cycle.
The same 10 teams from the previous season are competing.
The following players were retained or signed by their respective teams for the tournament.
Player retention started on 31 October 2024 with each franchise allowed to retain players ahead of the auction. Heinrich Klaasen became the most expensive retained player in IPL history, earning ₹23 crore (US$2.7 million), while Virat Kohli became the most expensive retained Indian player for ₹21 crore (US$2.5 million).
The BCCI announced the player auction list in November, and the Mega Auction was held on 24 and 25 November at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A record-breaking 1,574 players registered for the auction. Mallika Sagar served as the auctioneer for the second year.
Punjab Kings entered the Mega Auction with ₹110.5 crore (US$13 million), the highest purse in IPL history. During the auction, the record for the most expensive player, which was previously held by Mitchell Starc at ₹24.75 crore (US$2.9 million), was broken twice. First, Shreyas Iyer was sold to Punjab for ₹26.75 crore (US$3.1 million), before Rishabh Pant was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore (US$3.2 million). Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player sold in IPL history at the age of 13 years, being bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.1 crore (US$130,000).
The league stage is being played at 13 stadiums across India. The opening match was played at the Eden Gardens. The HPCA Cricket Stadium will host three Punjab Kings home games, the Barsapara Cricket Stadium hosted two Rajasthan Royals matches and Delhi Capitals played two home matches at the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium. The first two matches of the playoffs will be played in Hyderabad, with Kolkata hosting the other playoff matches, including the final.
The playoffs will be held from 20 to 25 May 2025. Qualifier 1 and Eliminator will be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. Qualifier 2 and the Final will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.