IPL Pulse: Billion-dollar teams, broken bowlers, flowing hair

Welcome to Pulse, your 2-minute scan of the IPL universe. Here's your pre-tournament edition.

The season build-up in 6 points

1. Two franchises have new owners. RCB sold for USD 1.78 billion and RR for USD 1.6 billion.
2. The physios have had a busy pre-season. Pat Cummins, MS Dhoni and Josh Hazlewood begin in rehab. Harshit Rana, Sam Curran and Akash Deep are ruled out.
3. After a long wait, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is back with wider gates. It'll host the opener. 11 seats will remain vacant in remembrance of last year's tragedy.
4. The Impact Player rule is here to stay for another season, continuing to influence team strategies.
5. Captains have been cautioned about incomplete catches and premature celebrations.
6. The 19th season begins with full stands and business as usual.

Impact Player Rule Reactions
Shubman Gill feels it "takes the skill out of the game", while Axar Patel does "not like" it, noting "I am an allrounder." Andy Flower sees "pros and cons," calling it a "good innovation" that can "hide selection problems."

New Regulations

• Dress code for presentations: no floppy hats, no sleeveless jerseys.
• Orange and Purple Caps must be worn for at least the first two overs.
• Players and support staff can't sit in front of LED boards.
• Teams can't use each other's nets, and no open nets are allowed.
• Players can range-hit, but not at the LED boards.

Venues
There are 13 venues this season, joint-most in IPL history for the third consecutive year.

Opening Match Preview
RCB host SRH tonight at Chinnaswamy. Their last meeting here in 2024 saw 287 plays 262. Andy Flower hints the pitch might play "slightly differently in the first half."

Awards

• We'll-cut-it-later award: RCB players, including Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya, are sporting long locks.
• Nazar-lag-gayi award: KKR's pace unit, with big signings, is hit by injuries and unavailability.
• Steal-your-thunder award: Additional home venues—Guwahati, Dharamsala, Raipur—have secured some marquee games.

Quick Hits
Matthew Hayden, now with Gujarat Titans, wants to give his Mongoose bat to Rahul Tewatia, not to anyone from Chennai Super Kings.