Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was disappointed with the scheduling of the upcoming 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024), which is set to get underway on March 22.
On Thursday, February 22, the BCCI announced the schedule for the first two weeks of the tournament. During this period, the 10 teams will play 21 games, with a franchise getting a minimum of three games and a maximum of five matches.
Well, the BCCI also made a change this season, and Manjrekar seems to be unhappy with itThehe IPL 2024 will kick off with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22 instead of last season’s runner-up Gujarat Titans (GT), and Manjrekar feels BCCI should have followed the tradition of the league.
However, the former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Manjrekar also acknowledged the buzz and excitement surrounding the marquee face-off between the RCB and CSK in Chennai.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports, “I think the champions should play the first match, and CSK deservingly are in the first game. Ideally, it should have been last year’s finalist who should have played against them but I think there is a good reason to have this opener.”
Manjrekar believes that the IPL 2024 opener will be a clash between the superstars of Indian cricket rather than the franchises.
He asked, “What you are seeing now is a clash of the superstars, more than the franchises, it’s Dhoni versus Virat, isn’t it?”
Notably, the IPL 2024 opener between CSK and RCB promises to be an enthralling spectacle, given the star-studded lineups of both teams. Big names gearing up for the match include Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj, Cameron Green, and Glenn Maxwell for RCB.
On the other hand, CSK boasts an impressive roster featuring players like MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conwand ay, Deepak Chahar, among others.
