by Deepanshu Srivastava

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a cricket tournament played every year in our country where the game of cricket is like a religion having an uncountable number of followers spread over the entire country. IPL is the brainchild of Mr. Lalit Modi, ex-vice president of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) having a format exactly parallel to England’s English Premier League (EPL) in football and America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) in basketball. Founded by the BCCI in 2007, IPL is a professional 20 – 20 format cricket league played between eight teams usually from March to May every year. The year 2020 was an exception, due to the surge of COVID – 19, when IPL was organised from 19th September to 10th November in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) although the matches were initially scheduled in India like every year.

There have been thirteen seasons of IPL so far and currently, the 14th season is underway. In fact, the fourteenth season took off as per the schedule from April 09, 2021, and was played till May 02, 2021 but was to be postponed till September 18, 2021, due to the second wave of the pandemic. The season was re-started from September 19 in the UAE in a bio-secure bubble in which matches are being held at a centralised site with strict quarantine and safety protocols. In part – 1 of IPL,  29 league matches were played and the remaining 31 matches are being held from September 19, the final being scheduled on October 15.

The first season of IPL was started in April 2008 in New Delhi in a grand inaugural ceremony. The genesis of IPL originated from India’s victory at the 2007   20 – 20 World Cup. Bubbling with the enthusiasm that emerged from this victory, BCCI announced a franchise-based 20 – 20 cricket tournament. Eight teams were decided to participate in the tournament through an auction held in January 2008. The winning bidders were given the team’s ownership and the cities to which they belonged were called the base cities of the teams. The names of the teams include the names of the base cities/states. For example, the team DC has its base in Delhi. Likewise, the eight participating teams were – CSK (Chennai Super Kings), DC (Delhi Capitals), KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), MI (Mumbai Indians), PK (Punjab Kings), RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore), RR (Rajasthan Royals), and SRH (Sunrisers Hyderabad). Since its commencement in 2008,  the above eight teams are participating in every IPL season except for the teams CSK and RR which were suspended on the charges of match-fixing and betting. During their suspensions in the years 2016 and 2017,  the two new teams namely the GL ( Gujarat Lions ) and the RPS ( Rising Pune Supergiants ) were inducted. However, the team CSK and RR were taken back in the IPL- fold when their suspensions were revoked in 2018. The two new teams – the GL and the RPS were dropped. In the year 2011, ten teams were allowed to participate and in 2012, nine teams played the tournament. Except for these two years, only eight teams participated every year in the tournament.

All the eight teams acquire the players in either of the three ways – annual player auction, trading players with other teams, or signing replacements for unavailable players. Players sign- up for the auction and set their base prices. During the auction, the franchise that bids the highest for a player is said to have bought that player. As per the rule, a team can have a maximum of four cricketers from outside the country.

Each team plays with all the remaining teams in the league- phase in a round-robin format. 56 matches are played at league levels and the top four teams in the points- tally qualify for the play-offs. The winner of the first two teams, one and two, gets direct entry into the IPL final. This match is called Qualifier round match number 1. The last two teams, number three and number four, play against each other and the match is called the Eliminator match. The loser of Qualifier match number 1 plays with the winner of the Eliminator match and this match is called Qualifier match number 2. The IPL final is played between the winners of Qualifier match number 1 and Qualifier match number 2. This way there are 60 matches played in every IPL and the entire duration of IPL is spread over almost sixty days. Out of the thirteen seasons played so far, team Mumbai has won five times leaving behind teams Chennai and Kolkata who have won the IPL respectively three and two times. The teams Delhi, Punjab, and Bangalore are yet to win any IPL.

The IPL has been designed to entice an entirely new generation of sports -lovers into the grounds. It attracts a young fan- base which includes ladies, children, and even Indian diasporas. It not only promotes cricket in India but also grooms young and budding cricketers from every nook and corner of the country. IPL provides a platform for young Indian cricketers to play with international star cricketers thereby it becomes a training ground for them.

The impact of IPL is so wide and powerful that during almost two months of the match- days of IPL, there is a definite decline in the TRP ‘s ( Telly Rating Points ) of TV serials, reality shows, as well as TV news channels. Even the filmmakers avoid releasing their films during IPL. IPL has emerged as an excellent example of professionalism, marketing, and advertisement. Inspired by the IPL formula, a number of other leagues involving games like kabaddi, badminton, hockey, etc have come up with more spectators and more revenue.

The details of the other features of IPL games and its rules include expansions and terminations, players acquisition squads and salaries, team composition rules, prize money, awards, title sponsorships are not discussed here to avoid coming to this article under editor’s scissor for exceeding its length.

About the Author:

An interpretative journalist by profession, Deepanshu Srivastava is a sports and story writer from Pune. He may be reached at [email protected].