By T.V. Antony Raj

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The kickoff for the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League – the Vivo Indian Premier League 2016 (IPL 9) is scheduled to start on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at 8:00 pm with champions Mumbai Indians taking on debutants Rising Pune Supergiants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. (See my post, “Cricket: Vivo IPL 2015 (IPL 9) Tournament Schedule“)

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The Vivo Indian Premier League 2016 (IPL 9) is all set to get off to a glamorous start at the Dome @ NSCI-SVP Stadium in Mumbai on the night of Friday, April 8, 2016.

At the opening ceremony of the games, the eight team captains participating in the Vivo IPL 9 games will take the MCC “Spirit of Cricket” pledge, to reaffirm Indian Premier League’s commitment to the Spirit Of Cricket.

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The Mumbai Indians team, without the services of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who retired after IPL 2013 season, were the winners of the Indian Premier League 2015 (IPL 8) under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

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To signal the start of the IPL 2016 season,  the Mumbai Indians will put the trophy back into play.

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Hitherto, Bollywood celebrities have been an integral part of the Indian Premier League and have always performed in the opening ceremony. This year, at the two-hour long opening ceremony, Bollywood celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandes, Ranveer Singh, rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, and other Bollywood cast are all set to dazzle the stage..

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American pop star Chris Brown will be joined by the American dancehall reggae trio Major Lazer, English rapper Fuse ODG and Jamaican-American recording artist Nailah Thorbourne and are expected to set the Dome on fire.

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The opening ceremony will start at 7:30 IST. The tickets are available online at Bookmyshow.com, the ticket booking portal. The rates start from ₹10,000 for Black Silver seats and ₹15,000 for Black Gold seats, plus internet handling charges.

LIVE TV Telecast: Set Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD

LIVE streaming: Hotstar app

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RELATED ARTICLES

• Cricket: Vivo IPL 2016 (IPL 9) Tournament Schedule (tvaraj.com)
• PL 2016: Pop Star Chris Brown, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh to Perform at Opening Ceremony (sports.ndtv.com)
• IPL 2016 opening ceremony schedule: Celebrity performances, venue, date, time and live streaming information (ibtimes.co.uk)
• National Sports Club of India (en.wikipedia.org)

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