IPL 2018: CoA cuts budget for opening ceremony to Rs 30 Crore

The budget for the IPL’s opening ceremony this season, which was set at Rs 50 crore, has been brought down to Rs 30 crore by the Committee of Administrators. The ceremony has also been rescheduled to April 7, which was earlier scheduled to take place a day before (April 6). The venue of the opening ceremony is also changed from the Cricket Club of India (CCI) to Wankhede Stadium.

“Earlier the opening ceremony was scheduled for April 6 at the Cricket Club of India. Now it has been decided by the CoA that it will happen on April 7 at Wankhede before the 2018 IPL opener,” an official from the BCCI told Indian Express.

The official also revealed that the previous budget was approved by the IPL Governing Council, but CoA later reduced it.     

“Earlier the budget for the opening ceremony was Rs 50 crore (approved by the IPL governing council), now it has been reduced to Rs 30 crore. This call, too, has been taken by the CoA,” the official added.

However, despite these changes, the schedule of the IPL would remain the same. The much-anticipated opening game would be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians and the comeback team Chennai Super Kings.