The Indian Premier League (IPL) (also known as the TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons) is a men's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league that is held in India. The league, which was founded by the BCCI in 2007, is contested by ten city-based franchise teams. The IPL is usually held in annually summer between March and May every year. It has an exclusive window in the ICC Future Tours Programme, meaning fewer international cricket tours happening during IPL seasons.
The IPL is the most popular cricket league in the world; in 2014, it was ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports leagues. In 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event to be broadcast live on YouTube. Other Indian sports leagues have been established
based on the success of the IPL. The brand value of the league in 2022 was ₹90,038 crore (US$11 billion). According to BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed ₹1,150 crore (US$140 million) to the GDP of the economy of India. In December 2022, the IPL became a decacorn valued at US$10.9 billion, registering a 75% growth in dollar terms since 2020 when it was valued at $6.2 billion, according to a report by consulting firm D and P Advisory. Its 2023 final was the most streamed live event on internet, with 32 million viewers.
In 2023, the league sold its media rights for the period of 2023–2027 for US$6.4 billion to Viacom18 and Star Sports, meaning each IPL match was valued at $13.4 million. As of 2023, there have been sixteen seasons of the tournament. The current champions are Chennai Super Kings,who won the season 2023 after defeating Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Inspired by a rival
In 2007, Zee Entertainment Enterprises founded the Indian Cricket League (ICL). The ICL was not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the BCCI was unhappy about its own committee members joining the ICL executive board. To prevent players from joining the ICL, the BCCI increased the prize money associated with its domestic tournaments and imposed lifetime bans on any player joining the rival league, which the BCCI considered a rebel league.
A match during the 2008 IPL inaugural season in Chennai On 13 September 2007, following India's victory at the 2007 T20 World Cup, the BCCI announced a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket (T20) competition called the Indian Premier League. The first season was scheduled to start in April 2008 with a "high-profile ceremony" at New Delhi. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who led the IPL effort, provided details of the tournament, including its format, prize money, franchise revenue system, and squad composition rules. The new league, which would be run by a seven-man governing council, would also be the qualifying mechanism for that year's Champions League Twenty20.To determine team ownership, an auction of franchises was held on 24 January 2008; the reserve prices of the eight franchises totalled $400 million, although the auction raised a total of $723.59 million As a result of the ban imposed on players opting to participate in the ICL, the rival league closed down in 2009.
Chennai Super Kings is a professional cricket franchise based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, that competes in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The team is owned by India Cements through its Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited holding company. They have won a record five IPL titles (shared with Mumbai Indians), appeared in a record 10 finals and have qualified for the playoff stages 12 times out of the 14 seasons they have played, more than any other team.
Mumbai Indians are a professional franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, through its 100% subsidiary Indiawin Sports. Since its establishment, the team has played its home matches in the 33,108-capacity Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In 2017, the Mumbai Indians became the first franchise to cross the $100 million mark in brand value among the IPL franchises.[3] The brand value of Mumbai Indians, in 2019, is estimated to be around ₹809 crore (roughly $115 million), the highest among all the IPL franchises for the fourth consecutive year.[4]
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a professional franchise cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor brand Royal Challenge.
In September 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the establishment of the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 competition to be started in 2008.[5] The teams for the competition, representing 8 different cities of India, including Bangalore, were put up on auction in Mumbai on 20 February 2008. The Bangalore franchise was purchased by Vijay Mallya, who paid US$111.6 million for it. This was the second highest bid for a team, next only to Reliance Industries' bid of US$111.9 million for the Mumbai Indians.
The Royal Challengers have not won the IPL but finished runner-up on three occasions between 2009 and 2016. The team holds the records of both the highest and the lowest totals in the IPL – 263/5 and 49 respectively.[3][4]
Sunrisers Hyderabad (stylised as SunRisers Hyderabad, abbr. SRH) are a professional franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL).[4] The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the SUN Group and was founded in 2012 after the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers were terminated by the IPL.[5] The team is currently coached by Daniel Vettori and captained by Aiden Markram. Their primary home ground is the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, which has capacity of 55,000.[6] The team made their first IPL appearance in 2013, where they reached the playoffs, eventually finishing in fourth place. The Sunrisers won their maiden IPL title in the 2016 season, defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in the final. The team has qualified for the play-off stage of the tournament in every season since 2016.
Gujarat Titans (GT) is a professional franchise cricket team based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The Titans compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL).[1][2][3] Founded in 2021, Gujarat Titans' home ground is Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. The franchise is owned by CVC Capital Partners. The team is currently captained by Shubman Gill,[4] after Hardik Pandya traded back to Mumbai Indians, and coached by Ashish Nehra.[5][6] They won their maiden title in the 2022 season under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, which was also their debut season. Although their auction methods and their selections during their first-ever auction were considered weak, and the team was written off, the Titans surprised everyone with their performances, gaining their first win against fellow newcomers Lucknow Super Giants. That win was the first in their inaugural campaign, which saw the Titans eventually win 10 of their 14 group matches, qualifying at the top of the table with 20 points. They then won the first qualifier against Rajasthan Royals, whom they would meet again in the final after their qualifier win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a professional franchise cricket team based in Delhi that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Sports. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla), located in New Delhi. The team is captained by Rishabh Pant[1] and coached by Ricky Ponting. The Capitals appeared in their first IPL final in 2020 against Mumbai Indians. In December 2018, the team changed its name from the Delhi Daredevils to the Delhi Capitals.[6] Speaking to the rationale behind changing the team's name, co-owner and chairman Parth Jindal said, "Delhi is the power centre of the country, it is the capital, therefore the name Delhi Capitals."[7] Co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi said, "The new name symbolizes Delhi's identity and just like the city, we are aiming to be the centre of all action going forward.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a professional franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. The Knight Riders play at the Eden Gardens stadium.[1] The franchise, which has gained immense popularity due to its association with celebrity owners, qualified for the IPL playoffs for the first time in 2011. They became the IPL champions in 2012, by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final. They repeated the feat in 2014, defeating Kings XI Punjab.[2] The Knight Riders hold the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s. In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) created the cricket tournament Indian Premier League, based on the Twenty20 format of the game.[6] Eight teams participated in the inaugural tournament held in April – June 2008. The teams representing the eight different cities of India were put up on auction in Mumbai on 20 February 2008.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is a professional franchise cricket team based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2021, the team plays its home matches at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The team is owned by RPSG Group, who previously owned the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise between 2016 and 2017, and is captained by KL Rahul and coached by Justin Langer.At the February 2022 mega auction, the franchise purchased its first set of players. Notable players signed included KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Mark Wood and Marcus Stoinis. Later in the year, the franchise named Rahul as the captain of the team and former Zimbabwean cricketer Andy Flower as head coach.[5][6] Additionally, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the team mentor.[7] In the 2022 season, the franchise finished third in the group stage and qualified for the playoffs. They faced fourth place Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator match and were knocked out at that stage.[8] The 2023 season saw the side again finishing 3rd and losing the eliminator, this time to Mumbai Indians.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) is a professional franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. The team plays its home matches at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, although since the 2010 season, they have also played some home matches at Dharamsala and Indore. Apart from the 2014 season when they topped the league table and finished runners-up, the team has made only one other playoff appearance in 16 seasons. 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) created the cricket tournament the Indian Premier League, based on the Twenty20 format of the game. Franchises for eight cities were made available in an auction held in Mumbai on 20 February 2008. The team representing Punjab was bought by the Dabur group's Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group's Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake). The group paid a total of $76 million to acquire the franchise.
Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a professional franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL).[1] Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.[2][3] The Royals are known to unearth obscure, high potential talent.[4][5][6] The team won the inaugural edition of the IPL under the captaincy of Shane Warne, despite being written off as a title contender by the media and fans. The Royals were also the runners-up of the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 under Rahul Dravid's captaincy,[6][7] and they were also the finalists of the 2022 Indian Premier League under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and leadership of Kumar Sangakkara. On 14 July 2015, the verdict reached by a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India suspended Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings for two years over a 2013 betting scandal, meaning they could not participate in both the 2016 and 2017 IPL tournaments. They returned to the competition for the 2018 season.
Dhoni was acquired by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for US$1.5 million during the auction for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was the most expensive signing in the auction.[121] Dhoni scored 414 runs to lead CSK to the finals in the first season of IPL.[122] Under his captaincy, CSK won the 2010 season and qualified for Champions League Twenty20.[123] Chennai won the 2010 Champions league.[124] Dhoni scored 392 runs and led CSK to its second consecutive IPL title in 2011.[125] Dhoni led CSK to its second Champions League Twenty20 title in 2014.[126] Dhoni scored 2987 runs from 129 matches in the IPL across the first eight seasons for the Super Kings.[122]
Sharma joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 when he was signed by the Deccan Chargers franchise, based in Hyderabad, for the sum of US$750,000 a year.[91] In the 2011 auction, he was sold for US$2 million to the Mumbai Indians.[92] He scored his only IPL century in the 2012 tournament with 109 (not out) against the Kolkata Knight Riders.[93] Under his leadership, Mumbai has won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020; they also won the former Champions League Twenty20 competition in 2013.[94]
Sharma has been one of the most successful players in the IPL as captain since 2013 of the Mumbai Indians, who have won the tournament five times under his leadership.[94][95] He is currently (March 2022) one of six players who have scored 5,000 career runs in the competition. Sharma has 5,611 runs with one century and 40 half centuries and is the third-highest run scorer after Virat Kohli (6,283) and Shikhar Dhawan (5,784).[96]
In the 2022 Indian Premier League auction, du Plessis was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore;[40] and named as team's captain on 12 March 2022.[41][42][43] In April 2022, he was bought by the Northern Superchargers for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.[44] In November 2022, the Perth Scorchers drafted him for the first half of the 2022–23 Big Bash League season as a replacement for Laurie Evans.[45]
In June 2023, Texas Super Kings announced du Plessis as the captain for the inaugural season of the Twenty20 league Major League Cricket (MLC).
On 11 September 2021, Markram was included in the Punjab Kings squad for the second phase of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE.[22][23] In February 2022, he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament.[24]
After successfully leading Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the first SA20 championship, Markram was appointed as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League.[25]
In January 2018, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹1.8 crore (US$230,000) in the 2018 IPL auction.[59][60] He made his Twenty20 debut for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 Indian Premier League on 14 April 2018.[61] Gill scored 203 runs in the 2018 season as KKR would finish third, losing in Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.[62]
Ahead of the 2022 IPL auction, Gill was drafted by the newly formed Gujarat Titans franchise for ₹8 crore (equivalent to ₹8.5 crore or US$1.1 million in 2023).[68] Gill would score 483 runs in 2022, and the Titans would defeat Rajasthan Royals to win the 2022 IPL in their inaugural year.[69]
In the 2023 season, Gill would score 890 runs, becoming the second highest run scorer ever in a single IPL season and winning the orange cap.[70] Gill became the fourth man to score back to back centuries, 101 against the SRH and 104* against RCB.[71] In Qualifier 2 versus MI, Gill achieved the season's highest individual score of 129 off 60 balls and the record of highest ever score in an IPL playoffs match and second most centuries in an IPL season at 3.[72] While Gill would play in his third consecutive final, the Titans would lose to the Chennai Super Kings.[73]
Pant was purchased by the Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2016 Indian Premier League on the same day he scored a century for India U-19 team in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, guiding them into the semi-finals.[22] Playing his third game of the season, Pant made 69 runs off 40 balls to help Delhi secure an eight-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions.[23] In the 2017 season, he scored 97 runs from 43 balls against the same team.[24][25]
During the 2018 Indian Premier League, Pant scored an unbeaten 128 from 63 balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, making it the then highest individual score by an Indian cricketer in IPL history.[26][27] He also became the second youngest player to score a century in the IPL.[28] His score of 128 also comprised 68.4% of the teams total, making it the 2nd highest percentage of runs by an individual batsmen in an IPL match. In March 2021, Pant was named the captain of the Delhi Capitals for the 2021 Indian Premier League after the regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the entire tournament due to an injury.[29][30] He was retained as captain for the 2022 IPL season as well.
Delhi Daredevils retained Iyer in the 2018 IPL Auction. On 25 April 2018, he was announced as the new captain of Delhi Daredevils replacing Gautam Gambhir.[23][24][25] On 27 April 2018, he became the youngest captain to lead the Delhi Daredevils team in the IPL history at the age of 23 years and 142 days during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and was also the fourth overall youngest to captain any IPL side.[26] On his IPL captaincy debut, Shreyas Iyer smashed an unbeaten match-winning knock of 93 off 40 deliveries with 10 sixes, which was his third successive IPL fifty of the season to power DD to a heavy total of 219/5 in the first innings of the match before earning him the man of the match award.[27] Under his captaincy, Delhi Daredevils managed to defeat KKR by 55 runs to secure only their second win of the tournament.[28][29] Iyer was retained by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2019 Season, in which he led the team into the playoffs for the first time after seven years.
In the 2020 season, he continued as the captain for Delhi Capitals and he also led them to their maiden IPL final against the Mumbai Indians.[30] Iyer scored an unbeaten 65 off 50 balls in a losing effort as Mumbai Indians won the final.
Prior to the 2022, Rahul parted ways with the Punjab Kings and was drafted by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as their captain for INR 17 crore, making him the joint highest paid cricketer in the IPL alongside Virat Kohli.
On 16 April 2022, Rahul scored his first century for Lucknow (103* off 60) against Mumbai.[68] He followed this up with another unbeaten century(103* off 62) against the same opposition eight days later.
Rahul led his team to play-offs in the debut season for LSG but ended up losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator. Rahul was the highest scorer for his team, scoring 616 runs with an average of 51.33 scoring 2 centuries in the season.[69]
Rahul was retained as the captain for Lucknow Super Giants for 2023 season. Rahul was ruled out of the tournament mid way after sustaining an injury while fielding in a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.[
Dhawan was selected captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team prior to the start of the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 tournament.[156] He was later replaced by Darren Sammy as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 Indian Premier League.[157]
Dhawan was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2017 Indian Premier League. He scored 479 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.84 in the tournament. His side were knocked out by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the playoffs.[158]
In the 2018 IPL Auction, Dhawan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹ 5.2 crores using their RTM (right to match) card.[159] In the 2018 Indian Premier League, he scored 497 runs, his side finished runners-up after losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final. He was traded to Delhi Capitals for the 2019 season.[160] For Dhawan's performances in the 2019 IPL season, he was named in the ESPNcricinfo IPL XI.[161] On 20 October 2020, Dhawan became the first batsman in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) to score back-to-back hundreds and on the same day, he became the fifth batsman to cross the 5000 runs mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after David Warner.[162][163] Dhawan, 34, is the 3rd in the list of top run scorers in IPL 2020.[164] Shikhar Dhawan has completed 600 runs in IPL 2020.
Samson was named by Kolkata Knight Riders in its player pool ahead of 2009 Indian Premier League.[140] He was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of 2012 Indian Premier League[141] but did not get to play and was released ahead of the 2013 season.[142] He was signed to play for Rajasthan Royals in 2013.[143] He made his IPL debut for Rajasthan against Kings XI Punjab on 14 April 2013 after the regular wicket-keeper Dishant Yagnik failed to recover from an injury.[144] In his second match, he scored 63 runs from 41 balls, becoming the then youngest player in IPL to score a half-century.[145][Note 1] He won the Best Young Player award of 2013 season with 206 runs and six stumpings from 10 innings.[147]
Samson made his Champions League Twenty20 debut for Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians on 21 September 2013[148] and scored 54 off 47 balls, becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in CLT20.[149] He was retained by Rajasthan ahead of the 2014 season.[150]