Only hours remain till the start of the IPL 2025 season. The tournament will begin on March 22 with a gripping match between the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and fan favorites, Royal Challengers Bangalore. The high-stakes opener is scheduled for Saturday at Kolkata's renowned Eden Gardens.

Cricket legends have offered their predictions for the four teams that will advance to the IPL 2025 playoffs. Among them, Virender Sehwag made a daring prediction that two of the most popular franchises, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), will fail to qualify for the 2025 season.

Before the season begins, numerous renowned cricketers from India and around the world offered their thoughts on the competition.  Many people have made predictions on which four teams will make the playoffs.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag has backed the Mumbai Indians (MI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to make the playoffs. Sehwag projected that teams like MI, LSG, and PBKS, which did not qualify for the playoffs last season, would finish in the top four.

Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist projected that PBKS, MI, SRH, and Gujarat Titans would make the final four. Former South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock projected MI, CSK, SRH, and PBKS to advance to the playoffs stage, while the ex-New Zealand pacer Simon Doull predicted CSK, KKR, SRH, and PBKS to qualify.

Notably, just two experts, Rohan Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle, included RCB in their anticipated list. Rohan Gavaskar projected that RCB, SRH, Delhi Capitals, and MI will qualify for the playoffs, while Harsha Bhogle mentioned SRH, MI, KKR, and RCB as likely teams to advance.

IPL 2025 will also see a few rule modifications. The ban on saliva on the ball has been lifted for the IPL 2025 season, and captains will not risk bans for over-rate offenses; instead, they will earn demerit points for those offenses, with a ban coming only in extreme circumstances.

The competition will also include a new regulation requiring a second ball in the second innings in night matches. This will be done to reduce the dew effect, which provides a significant advantage to chasing teams.