By Karan Agrawal 
The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin from March 22 with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The upcoming edition of the league promises to be bigger and better than the previous 17 editions considering the host of changes that IPL has witnessed this year which includes the change in the venue of the captains pre-season meet which will take place at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on March 20. If reports are to be believed the event which is expected to be four hours long will be attended by the captains of all 10 franchises along with their owners.
The Itinerary
The event at the Taj Hotel will include the customary photo shoot featuring the captains of all 10 teams. It is also being speculated that the BCCI will also make the captains aware of the playing conditions of this year’s tournament as it is something that has come under scanner on several occasions with teams complaining about the uncertainty over rules at crucial moments in a match.
The Change
Traditionally the pre-season captains meet is organized in the city that is hosting the opening match of the season which happens to be Kolkata this year but the venue change indicates that there might be other things on the agenda one of which will be sponsor activities, which could be one of the reasons of the event being four hours long.
The Availability
If we talk about the availability of captains of the 10 teams for the upcoming season all the captains along with Pat Cummins have joined their respective teams. The World Cup-winning captain will be available for the entire season despite the final of the World Test Champions scheduled to begin almost two weeks after IPL ends.