IPL 2018 | Six captains to miss opening ceremony due to logistics mishap

In a first-of-its-kind occurrence in the history of the Indian Premier League, the captains of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab, and Delhi Daredevils will not be required to attend the opening ceremony of the tournament which is set to take place on April 7 in Mumbai. 

The BCCI has ruled that the captains of the two teams who will play the tournament opener -  Rohit Sharma of the Mumbai Indians franchise and MS Dhoni of the Chennai Super Kings -  will be the only two captains who will physically be present for the opening ceremony. 

The whole confusion took place because senior IPL officials didn’t do their homework on the logistical aspect of four other franchises who would have to travel back to their team and play matches on the next day. On April 8, there is a double-header with Delhi Daredevils taking on Kings XI Punjab in Mohali at 4 pm while RCB will meet KKR in Kolkata at 8 pm in the second match of the day.

“They should have done their homework. They are calling Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin a day before an afternoon match. That’s absolute lack of homework,” a senior BCCI official told PTI. 

“Sample this. If Ashwin and Gambhir would have attended the opening ceremony, they could only boarded a 9 pm flight from Mumbai to Delhi as there are no late evening flights from Mumbai to Chandigarh. Now from Delhi, they can’t take a flight to Chandigarh on Sunday morning because the airport would remain close. So either they travel by car during the night, which is a dangerous proposition or in the morning of the match to play at 4 pm. The less said, better it is,” he added.

In reply, BCCI acting president CK Khanna said, “We are aware that there are some logistical issues that have cropped up. It will be sorted at the earliest. I think captains will be called a day earlier and their portion will be shot and shown during the opening ceremony.”

Till last year, the convention was to have an opening ceremony a day before the first match, which captains would attend and sign the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ pledge. But this time round, It was told that all eight captains will do a special video shoot on April 6 (A day before the opening ceremony) and leave for their respective cities that very evening.