The Indian Premier League begins in Kolkata on Saturday, with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders making a fresh start under new captaincy and management.
Title winning captain Shreyas Iyer has moved over to Punjab Kings while talismanic mentor Gautam Gambhir now handles the national team. There will be pressure on Kolkata not to let the significant changes disrupt their team makeup.
The mood will be upbeat among the Indian senior contingent as they enter the tournament as double white-ball champions after clinching the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy inside 12 months.
This IPL will see a number of new captains take charge, while the older brigade will also be eager to make a mark - none more so than Virat Kohli, who has won pretty much every single major accolade apart from the IPL trophy.
This tournament will witness the brilliance of MS Dhoni at the age of 43, while also gearing up for the possibility of a 13-year-old debutant in young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
With so many storylines in play, here is everything you need to know about IPL 2025.
Schedule
Teams
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock, Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya (for injured Umran Malik)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (captain), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Kamindu Mendis, Abhinav Manohar, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa, Atharva Taide, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Aniket Verma, Eshan Malinga, Sachin Baby, Mohammad Shami, Wiaan Mulder (for Brydon Carse)
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Andre Siddarth, Ravichandran Ashwin, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Curran, Shaik Rashid, Matheesha Pathirana, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (captain), Rohit Sharma, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Bevon Jacobs, Robin Minz, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, VS Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Vignesh Puthhur, Karn Sharma, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (for Allah Ghazanfar), Corbin Bosch (for Lizaad Williams)
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Nitish Rana, Wainindu Hasaranga, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yudhvir Charak, Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Fazal Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethel, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Prabhsimran Singh, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak
Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (captain), KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Tristian Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natrajan, Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmanta Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharshan, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Kumar Kushagra, Gerald Coetzee, Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Kareem Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (captain), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shamar Joseph, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ravi Bisnoi, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh
Prize money
According to reports, the prize money for this year's IPL will be the same as previous years. That means the winners will take $2.3 million home, while the runners-up will receive around $1.4m. Teams finishing third ($840,000) and fourth ($780,000) will also be suitably rewarded.
How to watch IPL 2025 in the UAE
The IPL will be shown live on CricLife Max in the UAE, and the Starz On (Starzplay) app.
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Joan Didion
Fourth Estate
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
The five pillars of Islam
More on Quran memorisation:
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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