Indian Premier League is one of the biggest cricket leagues across the world. Even its opening ceremony is lavish with Bollywood celebrity performances. But now, the BCCI has decided to scrap the IPL opening ceremony, which had previously cost close to Rs 30 crore.
According to Indian Express, this was one of the key decisions taken during the IPL governing council meeting Monday. Speaking to The Indian Express, a BCCI official said: “The opening ceremonies are a waste of money. The cricket fans don’t seem to be interested, and the performers have to be paid a lot.”
Over the years, a number of Bollywood stars and international pop stars, like Katy Perry, Akon and Pit Bull, have performed at IPL opening ceremonies amid dazzling fireworks and laser shows.
According to crictracker.com, BCCI is keen to give Cricket Club of India (CCI) an opportunity to organize an opening ceremony for IPL 2020. The upcoming season’s opening ceremony can take place in Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
With its auction to take place on 19th December, the preparations for the upcoming event have already started. The IPL will likely kick off from April 1 and could end by May 30. However, the important thing will be to watch whether BCCI will keep a 15-day window between the end of IPL and India’s next assignment. After taking over the regime, this is the first time that the apex body will hold the operations related to IPL.
