The IPL 2024 opener will see MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli face off as Dhoni prepares for retirement

In the lucrative Indian Premier League, the head-to-head encounter between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni is a perfect prime-time opener for the eight-week season.

The 2024 season begins with the star-studded encounter in Chennai on Friday when the defending champions, the Super Kings, host Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Dhoni will be leading Chennai against Kohli and Bengaluru.

Kohli returns to action after missing international cricket for almost two months. He skipped India's test series win over England due to the birth of his second child.

Attention will also be on Dhoni, who returns after 10 months. After leading Chennai to its record-equaling fifth IPL title last year, he announced his intention to retire at the end of this upcoming season.

Bengaluru, who have been runners-up three times, have yet to win the IPL title, which is an oddity given their record-breaking star Kohli. It is worth noting that Bengaluru's women's team recently ended the franchise's trophy drought by winning the 2024 Women's IPL trophy on Sunday.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have a new captain across formats, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya joining the team through a high-profile player trade with Gujarat Titans in November.

Pandya played for Mumbai, a five-time champion, from 2015 to 2021. He then signed with Gujarat for IPL 2022 and captained the new franchise to their maiden title that season. In 2023, they finished runner-up to Chennai.

Mumbai, under Sharma's leadership, won all five of their titles, with the last one in 2020. A barren three-year run led to the first regime change in 11 years, which has sparked a backlash among Mumbai's fan base ahead of the new season.

Shubman Gill is set to lead Gujarat Titans in his first major leadership role.

In other significant news ahead of the IPL season, the star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been declared fit to play at the highest level.

The 26-year-old Pant has recovered from knee and back injuries sustained in the past 15 months and can now return to high-profile cricket. He has not played since being involved in a car accident in December 2022. He will once again lead the Delhi Capitals franchise, having previously led them to the IPL 2020 final.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, the 22-year-old who scored 712 runs against England in the five-test series, will partner with Jos Buttler at the top for Rajasthan Royals.

During the auctions held last December, Australia's pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins became the two most expensive IPL players.

Starc is returning to the IPL for the first time since 2015 when he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Kolkata Knight Riders paid approximately $3 million for his services for this edition.

Cummins, who will captain the franchise this season, cost Sunrisers Hyderabad almost $2.5 million.