[WATCH] Hundreds of fans gather outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of RCB’s full squad practice session

Several fans swarmed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) team bus made its way to the venue for the RCB Unbox Event. The event will witness a full squad practice session and performances by some renowned artists from around the world.

While RCB have begun their training ahead of the much-anticipated 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, members of the squad alongside the support staff will be present on Tuesday, March 19, for the event.

Last year, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle marked their presence and were inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame during the Unbox event. As the franchise gears up for the next round, fans flocked to the stadium and cheered for the players who made their way into the stadium in the team bus.

Notably, Smriti Mandhana-led RCB, who recently won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024, will also be present. While the entire men’s squad will be seen practicing, fans will witness performances from Alan Walker, Raghu Dixit, Neeti Mohan, Brotha V, and JordIndian among several others.

RCB to face CSK in IPL 2024 curtain raiser

Upon the conclusion of the RCB Unbox event, the team will fly down to Chennai for the first game of the IPL 2024 as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) gear up to take on RCB at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, March 22.

The two sides have put up some thrilling contests whenever they’ve clashed over the years. Of the 31 games that CSK and RCB have played against each other, the former have emerged victorious on 20 occasions, with the latter winning just 10.

CSK have been dominant in their home matches against RCB at Chepauk, having won seven of the eight encounters. They also have a sly edge over RCB in the games hosted by the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with a 5-4 win-loss ratio.

The upcoming edition of the IPL will witness two legendary players back in action - MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. While the former will take on CSK’s captaincy duties for probably the last time, the latter will mark his return to competitive cricket for the first time since January 17, 2024.