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- Published: March 25, 2022 14:45
New Delhi: The Indian Premiere League (IPL) Season 15 has decided to give the opening ceremony a miss, for fourth year in a row. Last time, when such a gala event took place to mark the beginning of cricketing extravaganza was in 2018.
The star-studded inauguration ceremonies, happening a day before cricketing carnival, were much publicised & touted but it’s no longer the case. This year too, the cricket fans will have to do without it. The IPL organisers have chosen to give the ceremony a miss and the IPL Season 15 will kick off without big cine stars kick starting the event.
The IPL tournament 2022 begins on March 26, with first clash between Kolkata KnightRiders and Chennai SuperKings at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. This year, 2 new teams namely Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have been added in the list.
Why no IPL opening ceremonies for 4 years
Since inception, the enthralling inauguration ceremonies of the IPL used to the event to watch out for. The IPL inauguration events left the audience mesmerised with performances by leading Bollywood stars and music icons. But, since 2019, the IPL tournaments are being conducted without any opening ceremonies.
In 2019, the organisers decided to call off gala ceremony because of Pulwama massacre and the subsequent years got affected because of Covid-19 pandemic & lockdowns.
According to reports, the organisers have decided to call off the glittering ceremony because of ‘declining’ public interest and also because of the huge expenses that Board has to incur on account of celebrations.
The Board has to shell about Rs 30 crore for organising an opening ceremony and returns doesn’t commensurate with investments. This weighs heavily on organisers mind before putting in investments.
Last two years of IPL have occurred in the shadow of Covid, making it a difficult proposition.
People poke fun for skipping gala ceremonies
Netizens are taking to social media to poke fun at the organisers. However, the fans have been allowed back into the stadium, with 25% occupancy.
Bhaiii !! kya karenge paise bachake ?.
— Prajwal (@PrajwalDharpure) March 22, 2022
Star sports wale IPL ka excitement hi khatam kar rahe dhire dhire , na accha ad , na opening ceremony, upar se ab toh na bhara hua stadium aur na cheer leaders.??
— Vineet B Vinayak (@VineetVinayak07) March 22, 2022
IPL got boring the day IPL openening ceremony stopped happening.. Shame on star sports ???
— Balram Charaniya (@CharaniyaBalram) March 22, 2022
No popular theme song as well…people still remember that Jumping japak,India ka tyohaar etc even after many yrs . #SonyMax era.
— movieman (@movieman777) March 22, 2022