NEW DELHI — It's not only about cricket, it's also about entertainment. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is back with its sixth season, bringing with itself the excitement, drama, cheerleaders, controversies, cash, and of course loads of cricket. The opening ceremony of the IPL kicked off amid glitz and glamor Tuesday at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The ceremony featured scintillating performances from Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan, who started the proceedings with a famous poem titled “Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo” and “Ekla Cholo Re” penned by Rabindranath Tagore. The gymnasts, flying drummers and acrobats, cheerleaders, dancers, Red Poppy artists, a band of women percussionists from China, fireworks among others wowed the audience with their colorful, energetic and highly spirited performances. Singer Usha Uthup and composer Bappi Lahiri enthralled the crowd with their melodious renditions. Around 300 dancers also performed on a track composed by Pritam. International rapper Pitbull added international flavor to the ceremony. The singer and songwriter has been setting the music stage on fire since his first album came out in 2001. He has since won several awards including MTV Europe Music Awards, American Music Awards, Peoples Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards, ndtv.com reported. Nine franchisee teams — Kolkota Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians — will lock horns with each other for the coveted IPL title to be decided on May. 26. This season of the IPL offers a total prize purse of Rs 25 crore (approx. $46 million) of which the winning team will pocket Rs 10 crore (approx. $18 million) and the runners up Rs 7.5 crore (approx $14 million). — SG
