IPL, Indian Premier League is a T20 cricket tournament founded in 2008 and held every year since then. Former BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi formed it in response to the T20 format’s popularity skyrocketing in India after winning the World T20 in 2007.
Timing
The IPL is held every year in March, April, and May and lasts around seven weeks. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 edition was born in the United Arab Emirates from September to November 2020. The timing of the 2021 edition is also different due to the pandemic.
Selection of Teams
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a franchise-based tournament featuring eight clubs representing a different Indian city. Auctions were also performed when the game was planned to finalize the teams and select cities and towns based on group owners. Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Mohali, Kolkata, and Mumbai were among the eight teams that competed in the 2008 IPL.
Due to financial and match-fixing punishments imposed on some franchises, several adjustments have been made since then.
Franchises recruit players through a yearly auction, trade players during specific trading windows, and sign players not selected in the auction. Most signings occur via auction, where players choose their starting price and join the team that bids the most for them. The franchise must determine whether to renew each player’s contract at the end of each IPL season.
Squads must have 19-25 players, within a limit of eight players from overseas. A playing XI cannot have more than four players from overseas.
Format of IPL
Most of the tournament follows a straightforward format: each of the eight teams compete against each other at home and away, earning two points for a win, one point for a tie or no score, and none for a loss. At the bottom of the table, the four teams are eliminated at the end of the double round-robin competition while the top four teams advance to the playoffs.
In Qualifier 1, the teams who finished first and second in the league table will face off. The champion of that match advances to the final, but the loser remains in the competition. Similarly, the clubs that finished third and fourth in the league table will face off in the eliminator. The loser is eliminated, while the winner plays in Qualifier 2 against the loser of Qualifier 1.In the final, Qualifier 2 faces the winner of Qualifier 1, and the tournament winner is awarded.
Most Paid Players of IPL
From current talents to recently retired legends, almost everyone in the cricket world is represented. England was mainly absent in the first season, but its two most famous players, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, joined the second edition.
In the 2020 auction, Pat Cummins of Australia became the most paid overseas player of all time, costing Kolkata Knight Riders $2.1 million. The most expensive player overall is Virat Kohli, as the contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore was renewed for $2.4 million in 2018.
