What is the Indian Premier League?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional T20 league based in India. It’s one of the leading cricket sports leagues. Additionally, it is the most attended cricket league in the world with an average attendance of 26,542 people. The league's €480 million revenue is also one of the largest revenues in the world among other professional leagues. Their most successful teams are Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians who has both won the IPL 3 times. 

T20 Cricket

Twenty20 Cricket or better known as T20 is a form of cricket. This is one of the three forms in cricket that is recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the highest international or domestic level kind of tournament.

In this, two teams will play with single innings each and with only a maximum of 20 overs. The game usually lasts about three hours, which is shorter than other versions of the game. This was done to make the game more fast-paced for those watch it on television and in person.

The governing body for this league in India is the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Famous Players in Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League has produced many skilled players in the past and it looks like it will continue to do so. Various players had dominated the game and made a name for themselves with their skills and ability. Some of these players are: Praveen Kumar, Suresh Raina, Lasith Malinga, and Amit Mishra.

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina who is a powerful and aggressive player for the Chennai Super Kings is the leading run-scorer in the history of IPL. He has 3,699 runs in his 132 matches in the league with an average of 34 plus. He is also the first indian to score in T20I century.

Lasith Malinga

Mumbai Indians player Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in the Indian Premier League. He has taken more than 100 wickets. Additionally, he holds the best bowling average and economy rate in the league.

Amit Mishra

Mishra holds the record of highest number of hat-tricks (3) in the history of IPL among others. He has also hit the record for most wickets by any bowler in a 5-match series. Additionally, he had equaled the World Record of Indian bowling great Javagal Srinath in most wickets in a bilateral ODI series with 18 wickets.

Praveen Kumar

One of IPL’s most notable players is Praveen Kumar who had bowled the first ever over in IPL. He also had bowled the highest number of dot balls with 1075 in 119 matches. Not only that but he is the only bowler who had bowled the most number of maiden overs (14 in total) in the history of IPL. However, he won’t be able to beat any more record as he had retired on October 2018.

Teams in Indian Premier League

IPL is composed of eight teams that represent eight different cities in India. These teams are the following:

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since its establishment as a franchise in 2008 has never changed its captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He had led his team to 3 victories along with their coach.

CSK has the highest win percentage out of the other teams in IPL with its 61.56% success rate. They had won the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) twice already in 2010 and 2014.

It is also one of the most valuable teams in IPL with as it holds the record of most appearances in IPL playoffs. Also because CSK is estimated to have a brand value of $65 million.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals was established originally as Delhi Daredevils in 2008. The name was changed later into Delhi Capitals because of franchise chairman Parth Jindal. He reasoned that since Delhi was the capital of their country and the center power then it made sense.

As of date Delhi Capitals have not qualified in IPL Finals since their last IPL playoffs in 2012.

Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) has the highest number of sponsors among all the teams in the league. It has 25 sponsors despite not winning in any of the 11 IPL seasons. It has the fourth highest overall score in IPL when they won against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. KXIP has a win rate of 46,29% and has won 2 super overs.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a franchise in IPL owned by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and her spouse Jay Mehta. It has the second highest brand value among other teams with an estimation of $104 million. Additionally it holds the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in the T20 matches as they won 14 times.

Their home team Eden Gardens is the largest cricket stadium in India and the second largest in the world on account of its seating capacity.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians (MI) is one of the most successful teams in IPL. They had won 3 IPL, 2 Champions League T20 (CLT20), etc. It is the first franchise to cross the $100 million mark among IPL teams. Additionally, the estimated brand value of MI is $106 million which made them the most valuable franchise for the second year in a row.

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals (RR) is often referred to as the “moneyball” franchise of the IPL. This is because the team often finds players with high potential.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is one of the original eight teams of IPL. It holds the highest and lowest total in IPL with 263/5 and 49 respectively. It holds the second highest bid for a team when Vijay Mallya purchased it for $111.6 million. Mallya named the team after his drink brand named “Royal Challenge”.

RCB has made it to IPL finals thrice but has failed to score a win against their opponent teams. This team also holds the record for presenting 14 different starting 11 combinations in 2008. It also promotes their “Go Green” initiative every season by their players wearing a green jersey.

SunRisers Hyderabad

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) is a team in IPL that is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network. It’s based in Hyderabad and has made their first IPL appearance in 2013. It has achieved various awards since it made its first appearance like in the 2013 Indian Premier League, 2013 Champions League, 2014 Indian Premier League,

Indian Premier League Tournament Format

The season is usually held sometime every March, April, and May. The tournament format for Indian Premier League is a double round-robin. Teams will play against each other twice in the season. The top two teams will immediately play against each other in a qualifying match. Winner team will qualify immediately for IPL Finals while the other takes on a second qualifying match.

The top third and fourth teams will play for an elimination round. Team who wins here will play against the defeated team in first qualifying match to determine who will proceed to the finals. The two final teams will then compete and whoever wins will be granted the Indian Premier League champions.

Awards in Indian Premier League

Besides the trophy the team will get when they win the league, there are other awards that the Indian Premier League gives out to players. These are the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.

Orange Cap

This award is given to the top run-scorer in the IPL every season. The player who has the highest score at the end of the season gets the cap.

Purple Cap

This is award is given to the top wicket-taker in the IPL every season. The player who has the highest score at the end of the season will get the cap.

Where to Bet?

There are various sports betting sites where you can wager on Indian Premier League matches. If you want to know the best sportsbooks in the industry, you can check out the detailed reviews that Betwala has.