Kolkata: The dress rehearsals are complete. Shah Rukh Khan, the ageless Bollywood superstar, is ready to rock at the Eden Gardens on Saturday evening along with petite Disha Patani and melodious Shreya Ghoshal to kick off the 18th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
But there is a big if — will 65,000 fans at Kolkata’s iconic cricket stadium and millions in front of TV sets and mobile phones be able to watch the high-voltage entertainment?
Every Kolkatan has his/her eyes on the sky from the morning as the Met department hasn’t dished out encouraging news for the day.
The Bollywood show, as well as the IPL 2025 opener — between Shah Rukh co-owned defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Virat Kohli-spearheaded Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – are under a cloud.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange alert for Saturday, and predicted rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds in south Bengal, including Kolkata.
The exact time of thunderstorms wasn’t spelt out by IMD.
The good news is that though it has been cloudy since morning, there has been no rain till 1 pm.
The players, organisers, and thousands and millions of fans are keeping fingers crossed and praying that the weathergods are kind.
Even if there is a stoppage in play, the ground has excellent drainage facilities which would help in resumption of cricket soon after the rain relents.
Match-eve showers abort practice sessions
On Friday, however, a steady evening drizzle brought a premature end to the practice sessions of KKR and RCB.
Practice began at 5 pm, but light showers set in around 6 pm.
The ground staff swing into action, and covered the entire ground.
Kohli, who had intense batting sessions at the nets on Thursday and Friday while the conditions were dry, and his teammates were forced to pack up much earlier than expected. So did the Ajinkya Rahane-led KKR team.
Shah Rukh and the other celebrities did manage to get through with their rehearsals in the afternoon on Friday.
There was a huge uproar at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport when Shah Rukh arrived on Friday.
#WATCH | West Bengal: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who also co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL cricket team, arrives in Kolkata.
18th edition of IPL begins tomorrow, March 22 where defending champions KKR will face RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) at Eden Gardens, in the… pic.twitter.com/IFX1TSHglT
— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2025
SRK meets Kohli
At the ground and outside, where hundreds of fans ad gathered on Friday evening to catch a glimpse of the stars, erupted on weeing Shah Rukh, Kohli and others checking in to the Eden Gardens.
Shah Rukh meets every KKR squad member. The loudest cheers were reserved for the moment when Shah Rukh greeted Kohli, the husband of his co-star Anushka Sharma, with a warm hug near the BC Roy Pavilion.
𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚! 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 👑💜 pic.twitter.com/AgUJz8liDz
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 22, 2025
Weather permitting, here’s the schedule for the opening ceremony:
6.05 pm — Event begins with a special IPL countdown
6.13 pm – Shah Rukh takes over, opens with a monologue, leading into mega celebration
6.15 pm — Star performances begin
After an introductory AV, Shreya Ghoshal kicks off musical acts; Disha Patani follows with a high-energy performance; Karan Aujla takes the stage, with Disha joining him for the final song.
6.52 pm — Cricket meets glamour as SRK returns to the stage to welcome cricketers, and engages in a chat with them
6.53 pm — BCCI officials and celebrities take the stage, leading to ceremonial protocol
6.55 pm — Entry of the captains; Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) and Rajat Patidar (RCB captain) arrive on a float, followed by an interaction with SRK.
6.59 pm — IPL 18 cake cutting and balloon release, followed by dazzling Drone show
7 pm — Fireworks display, spectacular pyrotechnic show
Followed by toss ahead of the opening match between KKR and RCB
7.30 pm — Action begins, first ball in IPL season 18 to be bowled.
