The 2019 season of Indian Premier League (IPL) will not host an opening ceremony as the Committee of Administrators (CoA), on Friday decided to donate the entire money to the Pulwama martyrs’ families.
Usually, the opening ceremonies of the iconic T20 league are spiced up by Bollywood stars who steal the spotlight in a bid to entertain the fans. However, as a token of respect to the martyred soldiers, it has been decided to cancel the ceremony for the event’s 12th edition starting from March 23 onwards.
CoA member Vinod Rai: We'll not have a regular IPL opening ceremony and the amount of the budget for the opening ceremony will be given to families of the victims of this terror attack. #PulwamaAttack pic.twitter.com/WVe8txWx7z
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2019
“We will not have any inaugural function for the IPL and the money budgeted for that goes to the martyrs’ families,” said Committee of Administrators chairman Vinod Rai.
The CoA that is running the Indian cricket decided in a meeting on Friday.
IPL 2019 Schedule for opening 2 weeks:
| Date | Day | Time | Match | Venue |
| March 23 | Saturday | Evening | CSK vs RCB | Chennai |
| March 24 | Sunday | Afternoon | KKR vs SRH | Kolkata |
| March 24 | Sunday | Evening | MI vs DC | Mumbai |
| March 25 | Monday | Evening | RR vs KXIP | Jaipur |
| March 26 | Tuesday | Evening | DC vs CSK | Delhi |
| March 27 | Wednesday | Evening | KKR vs KXIP | Kolkata |
| March 28 | Thursday | Evening | RCB vs MI | Bengaluru |
| March 29 | Friday | Evening | SRH vs RR | Hyderabad |
| March 30 | Saturday | Afternoon | KXIP vs MI | Mohali |
| March 30 | Saturday | Evening | DC vs KKR | Delhi |
| March 31 | Sunday | Afternoon | SRH vs RCB | Hyderabad |
| March 31 | Sunday | Evening | CSK vs RR | Chennai |
| April 1 | Monday | Evening | KXIP vs DC | Mohali |
| April 2 | Tuesday | Evening | RR vs RCB | Jaipur |
| April 3 | Wednesday | Evening | MI vs CSK | Mumbai |
| April 4 | Thursday | Evening | DC vs SRH | Delhi |
| April 5 | Friday | Evening | RCB vs KKR | Bengaluru |
