The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially revealed the much-anticipated schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday (February 16).
As per the fixture list, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under Ruturaj Gaikwad’s captaincy will clash twice against their biggest rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the league phases of the upcoming 18th season.
In the previous season, fans missed out on the double-header contest between the two five-time champions as they faced only once at Wankhede, with CSK achieving a tremendous victory against MI by 20 runs.
CSK will kickstart their IPL 2025 season against MI at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on March 23 (Sunday), which is the late evening clash of the doubleheader contest on the second day of the season. However, Mumbai’s opening contest will witness their captain Hardik Pandya missing out on the high-profile match. Once again the IPL’s most successful teams will compete on April 20 (Sunday) at Wankhede Stadium.
Following a similar schedule structure, the Yellow Army will play their first four out of six games at home, hosting RCB on March 28 (Friday), which is indeed their second match of the tournament. Later Ruturaj’s led team travels to Bengaluru to play their return fixture against RCB on May 03 (Saturday) at M.Chinnaswamy stadium.
Why CSK will Compete Against RCB and MI Twice in League Stages?
According to the IPL 2025 format, each team will compete against the other four competitors of their group twice in league phases.
Interestingly, one team in a group will face the other four teams of the opposite group only once and one selected opponent from the other group (in the same row) twice tallying upto 14 league matches.
Schedule Structure for All Teams in IPL 2025 Explained!
The 18th season’s schedule has been formatted in such a way that 10 teams are categorized into two groups— Group 1 and Group 2 consisting of five teams in each group as follows:
| Group | First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Fourth Team | Fifth Team |
| Group 1 | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Punjab Kings (PBKS) |
| Group 2 | Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | Delhi Capitals (DC) | Gujarat Titans (GT) | Mumbai Indians (MI) | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) |
According to the above-tabulated pattern, these are the teams from Group 1 that will face a particular opponent from another group twice on the following days in the forthcoming edition:
| Matches | Date and Day |
| KKR (Group 1) vs SRH (Group 2) | April 03 (Thursday) |
| May 10 (Saturday) | |
| RCB (Group 1) vs DC (Group 2) | April 10 (Thursday) |
| April 27 (Sunday) | |
| RR (Group 1) vs GT (Group 2) | April 09 (Wednesday) |
| April 28 (Monday) | |
| CSK (Group 1) vs MI (Group 2) | March 23 (Sunday) |
| April 20 (Sunday) | |
| PBKS (Group 1) vs LSG (Group 2) | April 01 (Tuesday) |
| May 04 (Sunday) |
This has been the usual procedure since the 2022 edition when IPL enlarged its scope upto ten participating teams.
CSK Fixtures IPL 2025
Similar to other teams’ fixtures, it is understood that CSK will play 14 matches in league stages and compete against these four competitors of its group twice—RCB, KKR, RR, and PBKS. While Mumbai is one designated opponent from another group (ranked in the same row) that will clash with Chennai for the second time in a single edition.
Here is how the Super Kings are scheduled to face off against these five opponents twice in IPL 2025:
| Opponent Teams to Compete against CSK Twice in IPL 2025 | Date and Day | Venue | Timings (IST) |
| Mumbai Indians | March 23 (Sunday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 07:30 pm |
| April 20 (Sunday) | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | ||
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | March 28 (Friday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 07:30 pm |
| May 03 (Saturday) | M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | ||
| Punjab Kings | April 08 (Tuesday) | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur | 07:30 pm |
| April 30 (Wednesday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | ||
| Kolkata Knight Riders | April 11 (Friday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 07:30 pm |
| May 07 (Wednesday) | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | ||
| Rajasthan Royals | March 30 (Sunday) | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati | 07:30 pm |
| May 12 (Monday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
Accordingly, CSK will face off against SRH, LSG, GT, and DC only once totaling upto 14 league games in the 18th season:
| Opponent Teams to Compete against CSK once in IPL 2025 | Date and Day | Venue | Timings (IST) |
| Delhi Capitals | April 05 (Saturday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 03:30 pm |
| Lucknow Super Giants | April 14 (Monday) | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | 07:30 pm |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | April 25 (Friday) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 07:30 pm |
| Gujarat Titans | May 18 (Sunday) | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 03:30 pm |
Why Mumbai Indians will play their first match of IPL 2025 without Hardik Pandya?
Mumbai will have to start their IPL 2025 campaign against Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23, without their regular captain Hardik Pandya. This is because the Indian all-rounder is subjected to a ban for one match as he was penalized thrice under the slow-over rate offense in the previous season under his captaincy.
According to the IPL regulations, a team failing to adhere to the required over-rate three times in a single edition results in the captain facing suspension for one match. As Mumbai Indians’s third overrate offense occurred in their last match of the league stages against Lucknow Super Giants in the last season, Hardik is certain to be banned for his next match. This is none other than MI’s first game against CSK in IPL 2025.
Double Headers in IPL 2025: Conclusive Facts
An overall of 74 matches will be played in IPL 2025 over 65 days across 13 venues that consist of 12 doubleheader contests.
Teams such as Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and Gujarat Titans are scheduled to play three afternoon games each. While the other six teams will play their two-afternoon games that start at 03:30 pm IST.