TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT IPL

Indian Premier League is completing 10 years this year and will be starting on 5th of April. It has been a mega success bringing in tons of money to everyone involved in it. It is the sixth successful sports league.

Here are 10 must-know facts about this huge cricketing event attended by best of cricketers, umpires, and celebrities. 

1. 1. The mastermind behind IPL is Lalit Modi. On observing leagues of various countries and the craze of cricket in India he saw a scope of this franchise. He had presented this idea of 50 over tournament to BCCI in 1995. It had been rejected then but on the starting of ICL by Zee in 2007, BCCI decided to start Twenty20 league to keep players on its side while imposing a lifetime ban on players joining ICL. By then Lalit Modi was president of Rajasthan Cricket Association and vice president of BCCI in 2005. He helped in the launching of IPL in 2008.

1. 1. IPL is a collaboration of game and glamor. It has brought successful Indian players, foreign players, and local cricketers together. Openings have been huge with the presence of Bollywood actors while some of the teams are or have been owned by mega stars. Regional movie stars have constantly shown their support to their respective teams bringing in more fandom.

1. 1. The original 8 teams of IPL are Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab. Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala were introduced in 2010. Due to monetary issues, Kochi Tuskers Kerala exited in 2011 and Pune Warriors India in  2013. Deccan Chargers was auctioned in 2012. It was bought by Sun TV Network and renamed as Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have been suspended for 2 years by BCCI in 2015 over betting and match-fixing scandal. Rising Pune Supergiants, Gujarat Lions have replaced them for this period. So the 8 teams playing this year are Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants Pune, Gujarat Lions.

1. 1. Each team has to buy players for its team. The highest auctioned player is YuvrajHe was bought by Delhi Daredevils by paying $2.67 million dollars. Domestic players sign contracts to be part of the team. Players can be interchanged on their consent by individual IPL teams. Signing underlapped or replacement are other options for a team to have best players on their side.

1. 1. Broadcasters and advertisers are huge gainers during this period. Sony Entertainment Television (Set Max) and World Sports Group are official broadcasters. Advertisements of each team with catchy tunes and loved celebs in the beginning of March promoting each team has become a staple for fans. It was the first sport to be broadcasted live on youtube.

      Services like Hotstar broadcast the games online. Add-ons from companies like ExpressVPN provides Hotstar VPNs ensures those outside India can also stream the games.

      

1. 1. In 2008 the prize money of winning team was $1.2 million while this year it is 21 Crore Rupees.

1. 1. Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Mumbai Indians have won the game twice while Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad have one once.

1. 1. Betting, match fixing had been surrounding this game since the beginning. Lalit Modi got thrown out of BCCI due to these charges. In 2013, 3 players of Rajasthan Royals Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested on charges of spot-fixing. Raj Kundra co-owner of Rajasthan Royals was suspended on his acceptance of booking while then BCCI chief N. Srinivasan was asked to step down from his post for a smooth running of the investigation.

1. 1. The presence of players like Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, AB de Villiers has been crowd pullers for all these years. Some major scores have been made by players during these games.

1. It has been a huge TRP gainer for past 9 years and has always been a tough competitor for prime time TV shows.