IPL 2023 kicks off with Arijit Singh's melodious voice, performances by Rashmika Mandanna & Tamannaah Bhatia

The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kickstarted on Friday (March 31) with epic performances by celebrities - actresses Tamannaah Bhatia and Rashmika Mandanna, and singer Arijit Singh.

The much-awaited opening ceremony is being held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh turned host for IPL on Star Sports Network.

The 'Jhoome Jo Pathaan' playback singer added a musical touch to the opening ceremony with his soothing voice. Singh enthralled the audience with some of his hits like 'Kesariya' from 'Brahmastra'.



For the opening ceremony, the 'Baahubali' actress stunned the audience with her unique performance that paid a tribute to all the states and the IPL teams in India. She performed on Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Gujarati songs, among others.

For the first time ever, the 33-year-old wore a stunning shimmery silver catsuit for the performance. Her white ensemble was created by celebrity designer Falguni Shane Peacock.

Bhatia also reached Ahmedabad to rehearse for the IPL opening ceremony on Thursday morning. She took some time off to visit tourist destinations in the city and gorge on the local delicacies.

The 'Pushpa: The Rise' star, who reached Mumbai on Thursday night, also delivered a mesmerising performance.


The 26-year-old also shared glimpses of her rehearsal from the stadium on Friday. Earlier, the official Twitter handle of IPL shared an interaction with Mandanna from her rehearsal.

The IPL 2023 will begin with the clash of heavyweight Chennai Super Kings, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and defending champions Gujarat Titans, headed by Hardik Pandya. The match started after the opening beginning at 7:30 PM IST.


IPL 2023 will see teams being divided into two groups - Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants in Group A while Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans are in Group B.

The rest of the matches will be played on two match timings during the day - one starting at 3:30 PM IST and another at 7:30 PM IST.

The T20 cricket extravaganza will be played across 12 venues - Mohali, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Guwahati (RR's second home) and Dharamsala (CSK's second home).

The IPL 2023 matches will begin and conclude at the Narendra Modi Stadium, starting on March 31 and ending on May 28, in Ahmedabad.

For the first time since 2019, the league will return to its customary home-and-away schedule in India where each team will play a total of 14 games. Each team will have home support, playing at their respective home grounds in seven matches while they will play the remaining seven matches at away venues.