New Delhi: Embroiled in controversy, the Indian Premier League kicks off its seventh season in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The tournament which didn’t have a venue till the last month and there were question marks whether a tournament plagued with such corruption should be allowed to carry on at all.
In light of all this, it seems an achievement that the tournament is ready to go. As legal disputes and IPL have always gone hand in hand, it seems fit that April 16 is the date of its first game as well as next court hearing. This controversy has not affected the enthusiasm of the average IPL fan however, despite nothing but bad publicity since last year, ticket sales have remained unchanged. This will be the first time in eight years that Indian players will be playing in the UAE, giving local fans a rare chance to watch them in action.
The players will do their best to stay focused on the field rather than the courtroom and with re-jigged teams and foreign condition, this year promises to throw up all sorts of surprises.
Defending champions, Mumbai, retained the maximum allowed five players from the previous season and also bid successfully for the reliable Michael Hussey. Mumbai face the Kolkata Knight Riders in the curtain-raiser, Kolkata have retained four players from 2013 and invested in Robin Uthappa. Having won just 2 out of 12 games against them so far, KKR would like to improve the numbers.Â