The Indian T20 League 2023 is all set to begin on March 31, 2023. In the first match of the 16th season of the league, the defending champions Gujarat and the four-time champions Chennai will be clashing against each other. MS Dhoni will be leading the Chennai outfit from the start of the season itself, while Hardik Pandya will be seen leading Gujarat in a bid to clinch second consecutive title. The high octane clash will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The captain of all 10 teams have already been announced. The Kolkata-based franchise have entrusted the responsibility of captaincy to Nitish Rana. On the other hand, the Hyderabad have appointed Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the captain for the opening few matches. Hyderabad regular captain, Aiden Markram will join the team, later, after completing his national duties.
Meanwhile, the captains of all the teams have got a photoshoot done with the trophy. Chennai captain Dhoni is seen in a new style as he has got his hair colored. Besides, the likes of Faf du Plessis, Bhuvneshwar, Nitish Rana, David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya can be seen sharing the frame together. However, Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma wasn’t present and, if reports are to be believed, he is likely to miss Mumbai’s first game as well.
Indian Cricket Board implemented new rules in the league
In the upcoming edition, Impact Player rule will also be applicable in the tournament in which the captains of the teams can make changes in their playing XI even after the toss. Till now, before the toss, the captain had to hand over the names of his playing XI players to the match referee, but now this will not happen. At the time of the toss, the captains of both teams will bring two lists each.
In addition to the playing XI in the team sheet, five players will be kept as substitutes. Any one of them can be replaced by another player in the middle of the match. At the same time, this rule will be applicable to foreign players only when there are fewer than 4 foreign players in the playing XI already.
Here’s how fans reacted to Rohit Sharma’s absence in the the captains’ photoshoot :
Chokli sacked 😢😭😭
— chokli (@Thalastan7) March 30, 2023
Ek team kam hai kya is sal 😂
— Devendra Singh Rathod #Viratkohli (@DevendrRathod9) March 30, 2023
Rohit bhaiya ana bhul gye lgta Hain…
— TUSHARBANSAL (@akhilmakkar8) March 30, 2023
Nitish rana ko neend se kyu utha diya itni jaldi 🤣
— Priyansh Ajmera (@PriyanshAjmer12) March 30, 2023
Chumbai is already out 🤣🤣
— Kele RaOL 😑 (@rohitsoorma__) March 30, 2023
Kya matlab rohit bhul gaya ki photoshoot tha 😂
— Virendrareshmi (@virendrareshmi) March 30, 2023
Jo trophy le jayega wo kidhar h
— Kap!L (@apwaadi) March 30, 2023
Where is Vadapav??
— ASHISH YADAV (@ASHISHY55171412) March 30, 2023
MI banned 😱😱😱
— 卄卂尺丨ㄖ爪 🇮🇳 🌈 (@__gurudas) March 30, 2023
