Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and other skippers get candid ahead of IPL 2025 Captains' Meet [In Pictures]

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is set to begin on Saturday, March 22. Ahead of the new season, all the 10 skippers gathered for a 'Captains' Meet' on Thursday, March 20 in Mumbai.

The meeting saw captains and the board discuss various agendas such as the impact player rule, use of saliva to shine the ball, and using two balls in the second innings, among others, ahead of the new season.

The skippers were seen having candid conversations ahead of the Captains' Meet. IPL's official X (formerly Twitter) handle posted some pictures from the event.

Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sanju Samson will lead Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Super Giants, Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals, respectively.

Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Pat Cummins, and Shreyas Iyer are the captains of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Punjab Kings, respectively.

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KKR and RCB to play IPL 2025 season opener in Kolkata

Talking about the IPL 2025 season opener, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Knight Riders are the defending champions, having beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final last year.

They won the title for the third time with previous wins in the 2012 and 2014 seasons. After Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata is the only team with three or more titles in the history of the competition.

On the other hand, RCB have never won an IPL title. They have played three finals but failed to get over the line in each of them. Last season, RCB managed to make the playoffs but suffered a defeat in the eliminator to crash out of the tournament.

KKR will be keen to begin their title defense on a positive note at home while it will be crucial for RCB to start the tournament with a win to avoid a repeat of the last season, where they needed to win all of their last six league matches.