30,000 tickets released for IPL opening jamboree

Kolkata, April 4 (IANS). Around 30,000 tickets have been released in the nearly one lakh capacity Salt Lake stadium for the Indian Premier League opening ceremony April 7, an official said here on Saturday.

The figure of 30,000 includes the tickets for the hospitality box as also the complimentary tickets being distributed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said IPL governing council member and Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Subir Ganguly.

He said gallieries in a large part of the stadium have to be closed to the people because of the performances on stage.

Bollywood stars Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Pritam and Hrithik Roshan are all set to light up the ceremony, which is taking place in Kolkata after a gap of two years.

All eight team captains will be present to take the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket pledge. Gautam Gambhir, captain of defending champions KKR, will put the trophy back in play, signaling the start of the 2015 season.