Sportz interactive

Indian Premier League: Turning 18 means one gets into the swirling world of adulthood, acquiring independence in decision-making, and assuming new responsibilities related to living life. At this stage, the parents go into their emotional mode of ‘how time flies – it feels as if yesterday the kid arrived on earth and is now an adult in the blink of an eye’.

Well, the same can be said about the Indian Premier League (IPL), whose arrival in 2008 set the stage for cricket’s landscape to transform on its head and is now about to enter a mature phase of its existence when the 2025 season starts with the Kolkata Knight Riders-Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash at the Eden Gardens, though the washout threat looms large in the opener.

As has always been the case, there’s plenty of things to look forward to: a second new ball in evening matches chases, the saliva ban lifted and allowing bowlers to shine the ball, DRS being used for high and off-side wides and the impact player rule, always dividing the cricketing house, still intact.