IPL: Indian Premium League (Men)

IPL Introduction 

A men's T20 franchise cricket league in India is known as the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ten teams from seven cities and three states compete in it every year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) established the league in 2007. The current chairman of the IPL is Arun Singh Dhumal. It typically takes place in India's warm months of March through May and has a special window in the ICC Future Tours Programme.

The Indian Premier Competition (IPL) is the world's most popular cricket league. According to average attendance across all sports leagues in 2014, it came in sixth place.  IPL was the first athletic event in history to have a live YouTube broadcast in 2010. In 2022, IPL had a brand value of 90,038 crores ($11 billion). The BCCI estimates that the 2015 IPL season increased India's GDP by 1,150 crores ($140 million).

The IPL tournament has had fifteen seasons to date. Gujarat Titans, who won their first season in 2021 and 2022, are the current IPL champion franchise.

Table Of Contents

• IPL Introduction 

• Table

• IPL History

• Foundation Of IPL

• Addition And Abortion Of Teams

• Administration Of IPL

• IPL Teams

• IPL Format

• IPL Player acquisition, Squad Composition And Salaries

• IPL Match Rules

• IPL Price Money

• Teams With the Most Number Of Wins In IPL 

• IPL Awards

• IPL Controversies

• IPL 2023

Table

IPL History

Zee Entertainment Enterprises funded the establishment of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007.  The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not recognize the ICL, and the BCCI was not happy that some of its committee members had joined the ICL executive board. 

The BCCI boosted the prize money for their domestic competitions to deter players from joining the ICL, which the body viewed as a breakaway league and enforced lifetime bans on those who did.

Foundation Of IPL

Following India's success at the 2007 T20 World Cup, the BCCI launched the Indian Premier League, a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket league, on September 13. The first season was supposed to premiere in April 2008 in New Delhi during a "high-profile ceremony." The IPL initiative was driven by BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who laid out the specifics of the competition, including its structure, prize money, franchise revenue scheme, and squad makeup guidelines.

The top two clubs in the IPL would qualify for that year's Champions League Twenty20, and a seven-member board would govern the IPL of former India players and BCCI executives. Modi further stressed that the IPL was not formed as a "knee-jerk reaction" to the ICL and that they had been working on the concept for two years. The league's structure was comparable to the NBA in America and the Premier League in England.

On January 24, 2008, an auction was held to choose the league's owners. The basic values for the teams were about $400 million. The winning bidders and the locations where the teams will be based were revealed after the auction: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali, and Mumbai. In the end, $723.59 million was paid for all of the franchises. In 2008, the Indian Cricket League was quickly dissolved.

Since Pakistan participated in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which resulted in 166 fatalities and 238 seriously injured, players from Pakistan are not permitted to compete in the league. Pakistani players were completely banned from the IPL due to the despicable attack, which infuriated many Indians.

Addition And Abortion Of Teams

Before the fourth season of 2011, the league welcomed Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala on March 21, 2010. While Rendezvous Sports World paid $333.3 million for the Kochi franchise, Sahara Adventure Sports Group paid $370 million for the Pune location. But on November 11, 2011, one year after it was first announced, it was revealed that Kochi Tuskers Kerala would be disbanded because the team had violated the BCCI's rules.

Deccan Chargers, the 2009 winners, were dissolved on September 14, 2012, by the BCCI after the franchise could not find new owners. The replacement franchise was put up for sale the next month, on October 25, and Sun TV Network won the offer for the Hyderabad location. Sunrisers Hyderabad would be the name of the team.

The Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL on May 21, 2013, due to financial disagreements with the BCCI. Due to the franchise's failure to offer the required bank guarantee, the BCCI formally canceled the franchise on October 26, 2013.

Following their involvement in a spot-fixing and betting scandal, it was announced on June 14, 2015, that the two-time champion Chennai Super Kings and the inaugural season champion Rajasthan Royals would each be suspended for two seasons. Then, on December 8, 2015, it was announced that Pune and Rajkot would replace Chennai and Rajasthan for two seasons after an auction. Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant were the two teams.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season's venue was changed, and games were played in the United Arab Emirates. The BCCI announced in August 2021 that two new franchises would begin competing in the league in the 2022 season. Additionally, it was revealed that two of the BCCI's six shortlisted cities—Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Cuttack, Guwahati, Ranchi, and Dharamshala—would serve as the franchise locations. The two teams' winning bids in a confidential bidding process held on October 25 went to RPSG Group and CVC Capital. While CVC won Ahmedabad for 5,200 crores (US$650 million), RPSG spent 7,000 crores (US$880 million) for Lucknow. The teams were eventually given the names Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.

Administration Of IPL

The Cricket Center at the Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate, Mumbai, houses the IPL's headquarters. All of the tournament's operations are under the control of the IPL Governing Council. The group includes:

• Arun Singh Dhumal – Chairman

• Jay Shah – BCCI Secretary

• Ashish Shelar – BCCI Treasurer

• Avishek Dalmiya – Member

• Pragyan Ojha – Indian Cricketers' Association's representative

• CM Sane – Comptroller and Auditor General of India nominee

IPL Teams

IPL Format

The round-robin structure was abandoned with ten clubs, and two virtual groups of five were introduced in the league phase, similar to the 2011 season. The top four teams after the league stage will advance to the playoffs. The first Qualifying match pits the top two teams from the league phase against one another, with the victor advancing directly to the IPL final and the loser receiving a second chance to do so by competing in the second Qualifying match. 

The third-place club from the league phase plays the fourth-place team in an elimination game, and the winner advances to face the loser of the first qualifying game. The winner of the second qualifying game advances to the IPL Final, where they will face the winner of the first qualifying game, with the victor proclaimed the league's champion.

IPL Player acquisition, Squad Composition, And Salaries

Any of the three methods—trading players with other teams during the trade windows, signing replacements for unavailable players, or participating in the yearly player auction—can be used by a team to add players. The team that makes the highest bid for a player will purchase them. Players register for the auction and establish their basic price. New signings may replace players not purchased during the auction. A player may only be traded within the trading windows with his approval, and the franchise will pay any difference between the old and new contracts.

The athlete and the organization that purchased the player split the difference if the new contract is worth more than the previous one. Typically, there are three trade windows: two before the auction and one following it but before the event's commencement. Replacements may be signed before or during the event, but players may not be traded outside the trading periods or while the tournament is in progress.

PlayAs of the 2020 season, some of the team composition regulations are as follows:

• A maximum of 8 players from outside the country may be included in the team, which must have 18 to 25 players.

• The total salary cap for the team cannot be more than 85 crores ($11 million).

• If an under-19 player hasn't played first-class or List-A cricket before, they won't be selected.

• A team's starting eleven can have no more than four foreign players.

The length of a player contract is one year, with the option for the club to extend it by a further year or two. The player contracts were previously in US dollars until the 2014 season when they were converted to Indian rupees. International players may get payment in their preferred currency at the rate in effect on either the contract due date or the actual payment date.

Before the 2014 season, local Indian players could be signed by the franchises for a discrete fee, with a predetermined amount of between US$13,000 and US$38,000 being taken from the franchise's salary budget per signing. These players were not part of the player auction pool. Franchise owners voiced strong objections, claiming wealthier franchises were "luring players with under-the-table agreements." The IPL ultimately opted to add domestic players to the player auction.

The IPL has the second-highest average wage of any sports league in the world when prorated, according to a 2015 study by Sporting Intelligence and ESPN The Magazine. In contrast to other sports leagues, where a single team contracts players for the entire year, players in the IPL are only under contract for the duration of the competition (less than two months). Hence the weekly IPL earnings are extrapolated pro rata to achieve an average annual income.

IPL Match Rules

Because IPL games use television timeouts, teams have no time constraint to complete their innings. However, a fine may be assessed if the umpires determine that teams are abusing this privilege.

During each inning, each team is allowed a two-and-a-half-minute "strategic timeout"; the bowling team must use one between the ends of the sixth and ninth overs, and the batting team must use one between the ends of the thirteenth and sixteenth overs. The Umpire Decision Review System has been used in all IPL games since the 2018 campaign, giving each club two opportunities to challenge an on-field umpire's decision every inning.

IPL Price Money

The IPL's 2019 season provided a total prize pool of 50 crores (53 crores or US$6.6 million in 2020), with the victorious club taking home 20 crores (US$2.6 million in 2020) as their share. A total of 12.5 crores (US$1.6 million) and 8.75 crores (US$1.1 million) were awarded to the first and second runners-up, respectively. The fourth-place team also received 8.75 crores (US$1.1 million). The other teams receive no monetary compensation. Half of the prize money must be divided among the participants, according to IPL regulations.

Teams With The Most Number Of Wins In IPL 

IPL Awards

• The Orange Cap- The player who scores the most runs in an IPL season is given the Orange Cap. The leader wears the cap throughout the competition until the championship game, and the eventual victor keeps the cap for the entire season. Jos Buttler, who recently won, scored 863 runs (2022).

• The Purple Cap- The IPL's top wicket-taker for a season is given the Purple Cap. The leader wears the cap throughout the competition until the championship game, and the eventual victor keeps the cap for the entire season. Yuzvendra Chahal, who recently won, took 27 wickets (2022).

• Most Valuable Player- Before the 2012 season, the honor was known as "guy of the tournament." The Most Valuable Player ranking system was established by the IPL in 2013, with the winner being dubbed the "Most Valuable Player" at the end of the campaign. newest champion, Jos Buttler (2022).

• Fairplay Award- The squad with the finest track record of fair play receives the Fair Play Award after each season. The points the umpires award the teams are used to determine the winner. The two on-field umpires and the third umpire assign ratings to each team's performance after each game. Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals are the most recent winners.

• Emerging Player Award- The "Under-23 Success of the Tournament" award was given in 2008 for the "best under-19 player" and in 2009 and 2010 for the "best under-23 player." The distinction was recognized as "Rising Star of the Year" in 2011 and 2012 and "Best Young Player of the Season" in 2013. The award has been known as the Emerging Player of the Year since 2014. The only foreign player to date to win Emerging Player of the Year was Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh in 2016. Umran Malik, the most recent winner (2022).

• Most Sixes Award- The batsman who smashes the most sixes during an IPL season receives the award, now known as the Unacademy Let's Crack It Sixes Award, due to sponsorship. With 45 sixes in 17 innings, English batsman Jos Buttler of the Rajasthan Royals earned this title in 2022.

IPL Controversies

The Delhi police detained Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan, and S. Sreesanth in 2013 on suspicion of spot fixing. Police also detained Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principal of the Chennai Super Kings and the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan, for unlawfully betting on IPL games and providing bookmakers with team information. The BCCI permanently barred Chandila, Chavan, and Sreesanth from the game of cricket. 

In the middle of calls to boycott Chinese products and while the 2020 China-India conflicts were still going on, IPL came under fire for keeping Chinese sponsors for the 2020 IPL season.

IPL 2023

The 2023 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 16 or, for sponsorship reasons, Tata IPL 2023, will be the sixteenth season of the IPL. The BCCI sold the broadcasting rights for the 2023 to 2027 seasons for 48,390 crores (US$6.1 billion), making the event the second most expensive in the world, behind the NFL (overtaking the English Premier League). 

The streaming rights for Star Sports had been acquired completely by the Viacom18 consortium, and Star Sports had renewed its television agreement. BCCI Impact Player Rule, introduced before the IPL, allows teams to carry four impact players or substitutes in addition to the eleven players involved in a given match. The team may substitute any four impact players during a game for any player from the starting XI.

The IPL auction was held in Kochi on December 23, 2022. Sam Curran, purchased by Punjab Kings for 18.50 crore (US$2.3 million), was the most expensive player in the IPL.

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