The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is planning to name a stand at the Eden Gardens after legendary India seamer Jhulan Goswami, in recognition of her excellent services to the game.

Also Read: Every Record made by Jhulan Goswami

Hailing from West Bengal's Chakdaha town in Nadia district, the 39-year-old Jhulan brought the curtains down on her glorious, two-decade career with the third and final ODI against England at Lord's on Saturday.

"We are planning to name a stand after Jhulan Goswami at Eden Gardens. She is a special cricketer and deserves to be with the legends. We will approach the army for the necessary permission. We are also planning a special felicitation for her on the annual day."

CAB President Avishek Dalmiya said

"At CAB we give equal importance to women's cricket and hence we see so many talented cricketers. They are of course inspired by Jhulan's achievements. Though she has retired from international cricket we would love her to play in the woman's IPL," he added.

Read Also: Fastest Indian to 3000 ODI runs (men and women) | Smriti Mandhana nearly broke Kohli's record

Jhulan Goswami: A look at the numbers of the legendary pacer

Notably, the hard-hitting batter made her international debut for India Women under Goswami's captaincy back in 2009. As for the legendary pacer, she will end her career with the most wickets in ODIs. 

Having made her international debut back in 2022, the right-arm quick will finish her career as the highest wicket-taker across all formats. She has taken 353 wickets in her illustrious two-decades-long career.

As for ODIs, she has 253 wickets to her name in 203 matches. Apart from this, Goswami also holds the unprecedented record of bowling the most balls in One Day Internationals. 

She has bowled 9945 balls in ODIs and if she gets an opportunity to bowl her complete quota of overs in the final ODI against England Women at Lords, she will finish her career by bowling more than 10,000 balls.

Meanwhile, the CAB has also organized the telecast of her last game at a city theatre, Inox Elgin Road.

In recent years and decades, Bengal cricket has frequently witnessed the emergence of players from outside the region, who quickly become integral to Bengal's cricket scene. This trend was evident during the recently concluded draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League 2025.

It is important to clarify that we are not referring to outstation players, like Rohan Gavaskar and Arun Lal, who came to Bengal from other states and made it their home for cricket.

Instead, we are talking about cricketers from outside West Bengal who are arriving here and illegally obtaining Aadhaar cards and other documents with false addresses.

Fake addresses, corruption and outsiders in Bengal cricket

These players are rapidly rising through the ranks, some based on merit while others without any noteworthy performances, and they are moving on to represent the state at various levels. Furthermore, those who are advancing are bringing more players from their home states to Bengal and creating paths for them.

This situation points to a larger conspiracy involving club officials who are allegedly accepting bribes. Some of these officials are supposedly encouraging players to participate without payment in exchange for assisting them in gaining entry into Bengal under-age teams or even the Bengal Pro T20 League squads.

It's worth noting that platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League provide players with exposure to IPL scouts and teams, which can significantly boost their careers. Players like Sai Sudharasan, Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi, Vipraj Nigam, and Ashwani Kumar have all emerged from their respective state T20 leagues.

Consequently, these outstation players have come to believe that if they cannot succeed in their own state, they can come to Bengal, create illegal documents, collaborate with certain club officials, and gain access to platforms like the Bengal Pro T20 League.

This situation is depriving talented young cricketers from Bengal, who have been performing well at the club level, of opportunities.

In a recent video, presented in Bengali, Sportz Point addressed these issues, which was well received within the Bengal cricket community. We have translated this information into English to ensure the message reaches a wider audience across the nation.

Siddharth Patidar - supposed to play in both MPT20 League and Bengal Pro T20 League

One such instance is Siddharth Patidar, a player from Madhya Pradesh who has represented MP in the past and participated in the MP T20 League since 2022. He is now claimed to be a local player in Bengal.

Patidar is currently a member of the Jabalpur Royal Lions and will be playing under Saransh Jain in the tournament.

How can a player local to the MP T20 League also be considered a local player in West Bengal? This suggests he was provided with illegal documentation to verify his status as a Bengal domestic player. 

The MP T20 League is set to commence on June 12, and it will be interesting to see how Patidar competes in two different state leagues, claiming residency in both Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Patidar was drafted in Srachi Rarh Tigers in Bengal Men's Pro T20 League 2025.

Sandeep Tomar - played in UP T20 League, but has documents of West Bengal

Another player, Sandeep Tomar, known to be from Uttar Pradesh, also appears to possess Bengal documents in his name. Sandeep has previously participated in the UP T20 League as a local player, and last season, he played in the Bengal Pro T20 League as a local player.

This raises the implication that Sandeep, too, has illegally registered as a Bengal player with the Cricket Association of Bengal. 

Not only these two players, but reports indicate that multiple athletes are arriving from various states and illegitimately registering as Bengal players with forged documents. Clearly, such actions cannot occur without the support of officials.

C.A.B.'s efforts to stop this

Recently, the Cricket Association of Bengal announced that from the next season, all players will be required to submit bank documents that are more than three years old, along with their parents' documents, before registering. However, the pressing question remains: If they can not even stop a daylight robbery, will they be able to stop outstation players' entry? Only time will tell.

As a result, many deserving players from Bengal, who have been topping charts in runs, wickets, and trophy wins, have been deprived of the opportunities they rightfully deserve.

Numerous players expressed feelings of frustration, sadness, and hopelessness after the events that unfolded during the draft for the Men's Bengal Pro T20 League.

Every cricketer's dream is to play for his country but when his game is appreciated at the international level and he is honored with the biggest award of that game, then it shows the ability, dedication and hard work of that player. 

Similarly, considering the performance throughout the year in cricket, the international body of cricket honors the players with ICC Award every year.

It is part of the ICC Awards and is one of the most prestigious individual accolades in cricket, recognizing outstanding consistency, impact, and contributions to the sport at the international level.

The recipient is awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, named after the legendary West Indies all-rounder.

In this article, we will take a look at the Indian cricketers who have won ICC Cricketer of the Year Award (Men's and Women's) so far.

ICC Cricketer of the Year Award (Men's and Women's) | Indian cricketer 

Rahul Dravid | 2004

Former India captain Rahul Dravid won the two prestigious awards in the year 2004. He was the first Indian to secure any ICC awards. 

Fondly dubbed as ‘The Wall’ by fans, Dravid’s heroics in the longest format of the game are known to all, and he put out one of his finest performances in 2004.

The former India head coach played 12 Tests that year, scoring 946 runs at an average of 67.6, including two centuries and four fifties. 

His highest score in Test cricket that year came against Pakistan in Rawalpindi as he notched up a humungous 270(495), helping India get to a first-innings total of 600 after the hosts’ 224.

Overall, Dravid finished with 1971 runs in 43 international matches, Tests and ODIs combined. 

He hit three hundreds and a massive 14 half-centuries, hitting 207 fours and five sixes. 

Since the T20I format wasn’t introduced in 2004, Dravid finished with 1025 runs in 31 ODIs.

Also Read: ICC Men's Cricketer of the year since 2004

Jhulan Goswami | 2007

Jhulan Goswami has become the first player from India to take the ICC Women's Player of the Year award in 2007. 

Goswami was also India's only representative in the individual player awards, with no representation from the men in the shortlist. 

She edged out Australia's Lisa Sthalekar and England's Claire Taylor.

The title was just reward for her bowling average of 12.40 in Tests and 21.80 in ODIs and, since Australia's Cathryn Fitzpatrick retired earlier this year, Goswami has also become the fastest female bowler in the world. 

She may have pace, but she has the accuracy to match, with an economy rate of 2.10 in Tests and 3.17 in ODIs.

Goswami is the second winner of the award after Karen Rolton won the prize in 2006.

Sachin Tendulkar | 2010

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar won the ICC Cricketer of the Year award in 2010. 

Tendulkar fought off competition from Sehwag, Hashim Amla and Graeme Swann, the other nominees in the Cricketer of the Year category.

During the period Tendulkar scored 1064 runs at an average of 81.84 in ten Tests. 

He made 914 runs in 17 ODIs at 65.28, and also scored the format's first double-century against South Africa in Gwalior. 

Tendulkar was 37 years old in 2010, and he holds the record for being the oldest cricketer to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

Ravichandran Ashwin | 2016

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who very recently announced his retirement from international cricket, won the esteemed awards in the year 2016. 

Ashwin played his last international game against Australia and ended his career after the third Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test at The Gabba.

Ashwin finished the year 2016 with 72 wickets in just 12 Tests, including eight five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls. 

He also added 612 runs to his account, including two half-centuries.

Ashwin played only two ODIs and picked up two wickets while he played 17 T20Is, taking 23 scalps and registering bowling figures of 4/8 that year. 

Overall, the now 38-year-old played 31 international matches and picked up 97 wickets.

Virat Kohli | 2017

Indian former Test skipper Virat Kohli has won the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award first time in 2017 for his brilliant run at international cricket.

Kohli has aggregated 1059 runs in 10 tests, while he smashed 1460 runs in 26 ODIs. 

Kohli has smashed 11 hundred including three double hundreds across formats in the year 2017. 

Meanwhile, with 299 T20I runs, Virat Kohli has aggregated 2818 runs in 2017 across formats. 

He has also registered 27,324 runs so far during his international cricket career. 

Therefore for his brilliant performance throughout the year, he has been rewarded with the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award.

Also Read: ICC Men's Cricketer of the year winners of last ten years

Virat Kohli | 2018

Yes, you read it write it's again Virat Kohli who has won the award back to back in 2017 & 2018. 

Former Indian skipper Kohli has also broken the record of Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest to score 10000 runs in ODI cricket this year. 

Kohli has aggregated 2735 runs across formats in 2018 including 11 hundred to his name. The former Indian white-ball captain has also retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy in the same year. 

Kohli has ended the year as the number 1 batsman in Tests and ODIs. 

Therefore, he received the award from ICC as the men's cricketer of the year 2018.

Smriti Mandhana | 2018

Smriti Mandhana has won the ICC's Women's Cricketer of the Year Award in 2018. 

Mandhana, who was named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2018, pipped fellow opening batters Beaumont, Lizelle Lee of South Africa, and Gaby Lewis of Ireland to the honour. 

Jhulan Goswami, who won the same award in 2007, is the only other Indian woman to ever win an ICC annual award.

In 2018, Mandhana had finished atop the run chart in women's ODIs with 669 runs at an average of 66.90 and was the third-highest scorer in T20Is with 622 runs at a strike rate of 130.67.

Jasprit Bumrah | 2024

Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year in 2024 due to his outstanding performances in all formats of the game.

Bumrah also became the first Indian pacer to win the award and was instrumental in India's success in the home Test series against England and Bangladesh. 

He also played a crucial role in the T20 World Cup win for his side.

Bumrah beat tough competition from Travis Head, Joe Root and Harry Brook to win the prestigious award. 

The pacer became the 5th Indian to win the award after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).

Bumrah also won the ICC men's Test Cricketer Of The Year award as well after being the standout performer for India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he picked up 32 wickets.

The Indian pacer started the year with a terrific performance against England at home before he switched his attention to the T20 World Cup. 

Bumrah ended the tournament with 15 wickets and an average of 8.26 as India defeated South Africa in the final to lift the trophy.

The Indian pacer was adjudged as the Player Of the Tournament for his performance.

Bumrah's performance in Tests made him really stand out from the rest of the nominees. The pacer picked up 71 wickets in 13 matches, the highest by any bowler in 2024.

Bengal men's cricket team last won a trophy in 2012, when they lifted the Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating the mighty Mumbai team at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi. 13 years have passed since then and the Bengal men's cricket team's dream for another trophy got prolonged every season.

Today, in this exclusive article on Bengal cricket, we will check out where those members of that Champion team are now. 

Let me inform you first, despite being the Champions only twice in the Ranji Trophy and once in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Bengal have been one of the strongest teams in Indian domestic circuit for years. The team from Eastern India have been runners-up in Ranji Trophy for a record 13 times.

Meantime, in Vijay Hazare Trophy, they finished second 4 times.

Without further delay, let's get to know the "playing eleven" from that Champion Bengal team.

Bengal Men's Cricket team's journey in the 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Season

Bengal won four out of four games in the inter-zone group matches and finished as the zone champions with 19 points to reach the knockouts. Assam with 12 points qualified alongside them from the east zone.

In the first quarter-final, Bengal defeated a strong Madhya Pradesh by 15 runs to reach the semi-finals. Ashok Dinda took 5/54 and was named the player of the match. Anustup Majumdar scored 55 to help Bengal score 230 in the first inning. 

In the semi-final, Wriddhiman Saha was the hero for Bengal as his unbeaten 53 from 71 balls helped them chase Punjab's 206-run target. Sourav Sarkar and Arnab Nandi were the pick of the bowlers for Bengal with two wickets a piece. Mohammed Shami added a valuable 22 from 7 balls at the back of the innings for Bengal to get them over the line.

The Mega Final: Mumbai vs Bengal

The mega final saw literally a one-man show from current Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla. The all-rounder first took 4 wickets while giving away only 38 runs in the first inning against a star-studded batting lineup comprising Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar and Aditya Tare.

Mohammed Shami also picked up two wickets in the first inning. While chasing Mumbai's 249, Bengal lost Subhomoy Das in the first over. Mumbai captain Ajit Ajarkar trapped him in front of the wicket.

Shreevats Goswami (42 from 73) and Sourav Ganguly (38 from 53) tried to put a partnership but a few quick wickets after the departure of Ganguly pushed Bengal to trouble at 145/4 in 32.2 overs. 

But, then it was the partnership between Anustup Majumdar (50* from 45 balls) and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (106* from 90 balls) that helped Bengal chase down the total with 6 wickets in hands and 23 balls remaining.

Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the player of the final while Wriddhiman Saha was the top scorer of the tournament with 395 runs at an average of 98.75. 

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

Where are those Champion players now?

Shreevats Goswami (211 runs in VHT 2011-12)

One of the most successful white-ball openers for Bengal, Shreevats Goswami was the first-ever "Emerging Player of the IPL". His white ball dominance and stroke-making ability helped him play 31 matches in the IPL.

Goswami recently announced his retirement and played in the Legends Cricket League and Big Cricket League. He is currently doing commentary for various platforms.

Subhomoy Das

The flamboyant opener, who featured in the Indian Cricket League, is currently a coach and a selector. He was the Chief Selector of Bengal's Men's Cricket team earlier and was appointed as the head coach of the Adamas Howrah Warriors in the Bengal Pro T20 League too.

Sourav Ganguly (Captain)

Probably one of the greatest Indian captains, Sourav Ganguly retired from all forms of cricket in 2012. Later, he joined the Cricket Association of Bengal as the President. He then went on to head the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well.

Ganguly is currently associated with many associations and is the Director of Cricket at JSW Sports. Along with that, Ganguly also did commentary in between these years which fans loved as well. 

Laxmi Ratan Shukla (291 runs and 11 wickets)

Laxmi Ratan Shukla is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of Bengal cricket. His ability to turn up in the most demanding situations for his team is a skill Bengal is still trying to replace. 

Shukla won the Indian Premier League with Kolkata Knight Riders. Then he served as the Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports, Government of West Bengal and is currently now the head coach of the Bengal Men's Cricket Team. 

Wriddhiman Saha (395 runs)

Saha is regarded as one of the finest keepers of Indian Cricket. After his domestic success, went on to play for India in 40 test matches. He also went on to become the first player to score a ton in an IPL final.

Wriddhiman has announced his international retirement and his final match would be the Bengal vs Punjab match in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 in Kolkata starting from 30th January.

Anustup Majumdar (277 runs)

Known as the crisis man of Bengal cricket, Majumdar was one of the highest run-getters for Bengal in that tournament. Anustup scored 1 century and 1 half-century, an important one in the final.

Majumdar is currently the captain of the Bengal Ranji team. 

Debabrata Das

Though Das could only score 85 runs including one fifty in the tournament, he went on to become one of the greatest strikers of the ball in Bengal cricket history. I hope you still remember the scene when Gautam Gambhir gave away his player of the match in IPL 2012 to a young player. It was Debabrata Das.

Das is currently a selector under the Cricket Association of Bengal.

Read Also | Durgapur Cricket Club collaborates with SPORTIQO to elevate training: Wriddhiman Saha on the board

Arnab Nandi (6 wickets at 4.66 economy)

Arnab Nandi is one of the most successful club cricketers in Bengal cricket. He was pivotal with his off-spin bowling and lower-order batting in both the finals Bengal played in recent years. 

Though Nandi could not take Bengal over the line in the 2023 Ranji Trophy final, he was excellent for Sourav Ganguly's team in 2012. Nandi is still playing club cricket in Kolkata. This season he is leading the Kidderpore Sporting Club.

Mohammed Shami (11 wickets)

This man needs no introduction now. Shami was an integral part of that champion Bengal team. The fast bowler took 11 wickets at 24.27 average in that tournament.

He was Bengal's highest wicket-taker alongside Shukla in the tournament. One year later, Shami made his international debut and as they say, the rest is history. He is India's highest wicket-taker in World Cup history. 

Till now Shami has accumulated 448 international wickets so far in his career.

Iresh Saxena (8 wickets)

The former left-arm spinner took 8 wickets in that tournament and alongside Nandi, was Bengal's premier spinning option. 

Saxena was also part of the KKR team in 2012 which won the Indian Premier League. Saxena currently lives in Greater London, England.

Sourav Sarkar 

The tall medium pacer played in the final in place of Ashok Dinda and got the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav in the final. 

In 2009, he played two matches for Kolkata Knight Riders. Sarkar played in 31 first-class matches and took 111 wickets as well. 

He is currently a coach of the Bengal U-16 team. 

Players who did not play in the final but were in the squad

Arindam Ghosh

A stalwart of Bengal cricket, who flourished for the Indian Railways team, Arindam Ghosh is still playing at the Club Level in Kolkata. Ghosh played 2 games for KKR in IPL 2009 and played 68 first-class games for Bengal and Railways.

Jayojit Basu

Another top-order batter who did not take part in the final for Bengal. Jayojit Basu is one of the most successful batters in Kolkata Club Cricket's history. Despite scoring a lot of runs for clubs like Mohun Bagan, he could only play in 3 first-class and 8 List-A games for Bengal. 

Basu is still playing at the club level in Kolkata and also takes part in Minor County Leagues in England.

Read Also | Exclusive: Age does not matter, at 34, Jayojit Basu focusing on winning trophies

Saurasish Lahiri

Saurasish Lahiri is one of the most successful spinners for Bengal in First-Class cricket. The spinner played in 100 first-class games for Bengal and took 256 wickets. 

Lahiri retired in 2016 and is currently the head coach of the Bengal U-19 Men's Cricket team.

Sanjib Sanyal

If it was not for Laxmi Ratan Shukla's presence in the team, Sanyal could have become a great name in Bengal cricket as well. The pace-bowling all-rounder played in 47 First-Class and List-A games for Bengal and Railways.

Currently, he is an assistant coach of the Bengal U-19 Men's Cricket Team. 

Ashok Dinda (8 wickets)

One of the greatest fast bowlers to play for Bengal, Ashok Dinda could only play 4 games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal in 2012.

However, Dinda had managed to make an impact even in those 4 games for Bengal. He took 8 wickets including a five-wicket haul. He also had an outstanding economy rate of 4.90 in the tournament. 

Dinda went on to take 420 first-class wickets and took 151 List-A and 151 T20 Wickets as well. Dina played in 13 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India. Post his retirement Dinda became a MLA from Moyna from BJP. He is currently one of the coaches of CAB's project Vision 2028. 

T20I cricket is returning to the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, where the Indian Cricket Team will face England in the opening match of a five-match T20 series. 

The iconic stadium last hosted an international match on November 16, 2023, when Australia and South Africa faced off in the second semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

However, do you know when Eden Gardens last hosted a T20I match? It was when India faced West Indies in the last match of a three-match T20I series on 20 February 2022. 

In the match, the Indian team defeated the Carribeans by 17 runs to manage a clean sweep, winning the series by 3-0.

When India played a T20I game last time at the Eden Gardens

Having a 2-0 lead, India already had one hand on the trophy when they faced West Indies for the last match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Kieron Pollard-captained West Indies side won the toss and elected to bowl first.

After an early departure of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad on 4 (8), Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer took a hold to rotate the innings and made a good partnership. Kishan made 34 off 31 and Iyer made 25 off 16 deliveries before going to the pavilion.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma made only 7 off 15 balls, leaving the team in trouble after he was bowled by Dominic Drakes in the 13th over. India was on 93/4 at this point.

However, Suryakumar Yadav took it all on himself and made a blazing 65 runs off just 31 deliveries, studded with one boundary and seven sixes! On the other end, Venkatesh Iyer provided solid support to Surya as he remained not out on 35 off 19, an innings with four boundaries and two over-boundaries.

.@surya_14kumar smashed 7 sixes on his way to 65(31).

📸: Disney+Hotstar#SuryakumarYadav #INDvsWI #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/D0SuufWu5W

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) February 20, 2022

India finished their innings on a safe total of 184/5, leaving a tough job for the West Indian batters.

In response, West Indies faced early calamities with both of their openers going back to the pavilion within the first three overs. Deepak Chahar took both wickets to startle the Windies innings.

Nicholas Pooran held the ground for the Caribbeans in the first down, building a composed innings of 61 off 47 balls. The rest of the team did not have much to deliver as only Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd tried to build some resistance. 

Although Powell and Shepherd respectively scored 25 (14) and 29 (21); West Indies ended their innings on 167/9, handing India a victory by 17 runs.

India lifted the trophy with a clean sweep over West Indies, whereas Suryakumar Yadav was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series. 

India complete a clean sweep 👏

They win the final T20I against West Indies in Kolkata by 17 runs to win the series 3-0 🙌#INDvWI | 📝 https://t.co/v4n2wgfk91 pic.twitter.com/q4OYX5lDAT

— ICC (@ICC) February 20, 2022

This series win was visibly significant, leaving doors for the selectors to see a potential leader in Suryakumar Yadav for India in the T20Is. Suryakumar indeed has succeeded Rohit Sharma as the captain for the Indian team in T20I.

Suryakumar Yadav is set to captain India in the 5-match series against England, from January 22nd to February 2nd, 2025.

BCCI have announced the opening date of the IPL 2025 as the 18th edition of the world's grandest franchise T-20 tournament will commence on March 21, 2025.

IPL 2025 - Official dates!🏏🏆
Opening match & Final will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata! pic.twitter.com/ohTnD1WBrX

— SportsGully (@thesportsgully) January 12, 2025

Both the opening game and the final on May 21, 2025, will be played at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, whereas two of the play-off games will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. 

Kolkata Knight Riders will feature in the IPL 2025 opener at the Eden Gardens

The IPL Governing Council and BCCI adjusted the schedule from its previously proposed window of March 14 to May 25, 2025, to the newly proposed dates from March 21 to May 21, 2025.

This change came after the consideration to allot a two-week gap between the Champions Trophy Final on March 9 and the IPL 2025 Opener. 

To align with the IPL norms, the home stadium of the previous champions hosts the opener and the final of the following season as Kolkata Knight Riders will feature in the opening game at Eden as the defending champions. 

Read Also | BCCI announce days for next three IPL seasons

On the other hand, last year's runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad will be awarded Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. 

Cricbuzz reports that the BCCI will soon release the complete schedule at the end of this month. This announcement is expected to come after Devjit Saikia is elected as secretary and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia as treasurer during a Special General Meeting to be held in Mumbai on January 12.