IPL 2023 start date and time: When and where will first match of IPL 2023 take place?

After all the ten franchises brainstormed their ways to come up with their respective list of retained and released set of players for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the one final, crucial action ahead of IPL 2023 is the conduction of the mini auction of players who have either been released by their respective franchises, or were not part of IPL 2022 this year.

Just a few days ago, 991 players (714 Indians and 277 Overseas) had gotten themselves registered for the auction, which will take place on December 23, in the South Indian city of Kochi.

With only a maximum of 87 of these players (including only 30 Overseas players) will likely make it through to any of these teams, the franchises are expected to submit the list of names they are interested in latest by December 9.

Some big names including the likes of Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Cameron Green, Sam Curran et al, are expected to garner heavy bids at the auction table come December 23.

On the other hand, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins and most recently Indian Test team regulars in Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari have opted out of the upcoming edition of the league.

IPL 2023 start date and time

As reported by Cricbuzz on Tuesday, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will start either on March 31 or April 1 2023, with the latter date most likely to be the one for the potential launch of the cash-rich league. Also, with Gujarat Titans as the defending champions, the first match of the upcoming season will take place in Ahmedabad.

The BCCI is yet to come up with the final dates of the tournament next year, but the grand finale will likely take place either on May 28 or June 4.

Also, as per the report, the final of second edition of the World Test Championship is expected to run from June 7 to 11, which might well be a cause of worry for the BCCI in case India play the grand finale.

Moreover, the April 1 start for IPL 2023 is too close to India’s last international assignment. The last ODI between India and Australia is scheduled to take place on March 22, which would then leave the Indian players of that squad with mere 9-10 days to turn up for their respective franchises in the IPL.

It remains to be seen how the richest Cricket Board adjusts to these challenges in the days to come.