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.
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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