IPL Opening Ceremony highlights: Virat Kohli, Rinku Singh set stage on fire with dance moves with Shahrukh Khan

A gigantic cake is being cut to celebrate IPL's 18 years. Time for National Anthems, followed by the toss.

Virat Kohli gets a special gift from BCCI president Roger Binny for completing 18 years in IPL.

RCB and KKR captains Rajat Patidar and Ajinkya Rahane take the IPL trophy in the middle. Toss is delayed.

After Virat Kohli, time for Rinku Singh to come up to the stage. Both the cricketers dance on SRK's songs before the BCCI office bearers in the middle. Disha Patani, Karan Aujla and Shreyas Ghoshal also come to the stage.

Following Karan Aujla's live performance, a laser show is currently on display as it pays tribute to all the 10 IPL teams. Virat Kohli is called up to the stage. Virat Kohli is the only player to play all 18 seasons for a single team - RCB.

Time for singer Karan Aujla to take the stage.

Shreya Ghoshal ends her performance with the iconic Vande Mataram song. Next up will be Disha Patani with her dance gig.

SRK opens IPL 2025 with Swag

The ever beautiful Shreya Ghoshal is the first to take the stage with her iconic Mere Dholna number from Bhool Bhulaiya.

Its time for the Opening Ceremony. Shahrukh Khan opens the event with a welcome speech.

The stadium looks half full at the moment with more fans making their way. The preparations have already started with the Opening Ceremony slated to start at 6.15 PM IST.

The stage is all set in Kolkata with clear skies. The covers at the Eden Gardens have been removed also.

The craze for Virat Kohli and RCB is unmatchable wherever you go in India. Same was the case outside Eden Gardens.

We are just few minutes away from the grand Opening Ceremony at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The skies have held up for now and hope ot stays like that throughout the event and the match.

• Opening monologue by SRK
• Performance by Shreya Ghoshal
• Performance by Disha Patani
• Performance by Karan Aujla
• Celebration and Chat with Cricketers
• SRK's interaction with Captains
• Cake cutting & Balloon release
• Drone show
• Photoshoot
• Fireworks

So there is no Arijit Singh in IPL Opening Ceremony this time. Instead, SRK will set the stage on fire at Eden Gardens.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: ChatGPT says, “While RCB have the batting firepower, KKR have home advantage, better balance, and a bowling unit tailored for Eden. Unless RCB post a big score or Kohli pulls off a classic, I’d say… Kolkata Knight Riders to win a close opener.”

Google Gemini predicts, “KKR win if their batting clicks and their spinners exploit the pitch conditions. RCB win if their big-name batsmen fire and their bowlers can contain KKR's lineup. A nail-biting finish is highly probable.”

Grok predicts, “KKR’s familiarity with Eden, stronger head-to-head record, and balanced squad give them the upper hand. RCB’s batting might keep it close, but they’ll need something special to overcome KKR at home. So, my call: Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to win this one.”

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: KKR and RCB have played 34 IPL matches so far. Kolkata Knight Riders have won 20 of those games. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won 14.

In IPL 2024, they locked horns twice. KKR won both the matches, one by 7 wickets and the other by 1 run.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: After that burst of shower, sun has come up in Kolkata, giving some hope on continuity of the 20 over match today.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: In a post on X, Harsha Bhogle - commentator for IPL 2025 - wrote, “Oh dear, this rain isn't looking good in Kolkata.....”

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: In a video posted by KKR on Instagram, Shah Rukh said, “Thank you, Ajinkya, for joining us and being a captain. God bless you, and I hope you will find a good home here and play well with all of us,”

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: It's raining heavily in Kolkata at the moment, bringing a look of concern to the IPL fans who have been eagerly awaiting the match at the Eden Gardens.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE:

KKR Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson.

RCB Squad: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: According to the Weather Channel, there will be showers early in the day until 8:30am. After that, the website predicts that the showers will subside, but the weather in Kolkata is expected to remain cloudy throughout the afternoon, turning 'Mostly Cloudy' from 3:30pm onwards.

Unfortunately for IPL fans, the website suggests that there is a 48% chance of rain from 7:30pm - the scheduled start time of the RCB vs KKR match - dropping to around 35, 24 and 19% in the following hours.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: Speaking at a press conference, Chakravarthy said, "The dew part where you can change the ball might help the spinners and the moment they change the ball, the 11th, 12th and 13th [overs] it could be a spinner bowling because the ball would not be that wet. So that change is what I am forecasting here. That's what I can see,"

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE: The performances at the IPL 2025 Opening Ceremony will include dance, live music, and a laser show, along with some performances showcasing the art and culture of West Bengal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with other dignitaries, is expected to be present at the IPL 2025 opening ceremony.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE:S tar Sports is the official broadcaster of IPL 2025. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 2 Hindi, Star Sports 2 Hindi HD, Star Sports Khel, and Star Sports 3 will live broadcast the IPL 2025 Opening Ceremony.

IPL Opening Ceremony LIVE:

Disha Patani (confirmed)

Shreya Ghoshal (confirmed)

Karan Aujla (confirmed)

Arijit Singh (expected)

Varun Dhawan (expected)

Shraddha Kapoor (expected)

OneRepublic (approached)