About IPL

Dear Sport spirits,

Introducing IPL for you.

Globalization has had a major impact on the mind of VP-BCCI & Commissioner IPL Mr Lalit Modi. Foreseeing a cut-throat competition in the supply (unending) of talents in cricket sport, his IQ clicked an idea for maximum utilization of the same globally. Hence ‘IPL’ been structured as a special purpose vehicle of the parent BCCI – purpose to generate whopping profits for the board on a regular basis. It is an excellent use of sharing rights & privilege of forming franchise teams under a League (Indian Premier League), inspired by football’s English Premier League and the National Basketball League of the US. The IPL works on a franchise-system based on the American style of hiring players and transfers. The IPL is a professional T20 cricket league created and promoted by the BCCI and headquartered at Mumbai. It presently includes 08 teams (franchises) consisting of 16 players each from different countries. The winning bidders for the eight franchises were announced on 24 January 2008. While the total base price for auction was US $400 million, the auction fetched US $723.59 million. The UK-based brand consultancy, Brand Finance, has valued the IPL at $4.13 billion (Rs.18000crores) in 2010. It was valued at U$2.01 billion in 2009 by the same consultancy. According to global sports salaries review, IPL is the second highest paid league, based on first-team salaries on a pro-rata basis, second only to the NBA league. It is calculated that the average salary of IPL over a year is 2.5 million pounds. The entire concept of IPL is based on the assumption that the public will take a fancy to supporting league teams, as opposed to national teams, and come out in large numbers to watch their favorite stars play, whatever their nationality.

IPL Teams:

1) Bangalore Royal Challengers: The Bangalore team was bought by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group for $111.6 million to own the team for 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Rahul Dravid is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers. Team India’s bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad is the coach of the team.

2) Kings XI Punjab: The Mohali team was bought by Bollywood diva Preity Zinta, her industrialist beau Ness Wadia, along with renowned industrialists Karan Paul and Mohit Burman for $76 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Yuvraj Singh is the captain of Kings XI Punjab. Australia’s Tom Moddy is the coach of the team.

3) Chennai Super Kings: The Chennai team was bought by India Cements for $91 million to own the team for 10 years. Team India ODI and T20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings. Former South Africa cricket team captain Kepler Wessels is the coach of the team.

4) Kolkata Knight Riders: The Kolkata team is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for $75.09 million for a 10-year period. ‘Icon player’ Sourav Ganguly is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. Australia’s John Buchanan is the coach of the team.

5) Deccan Chargers: The Hyderabad team was bought by Deccan Chronicle, a media house, for $107 million for a 10-year period. Team India’s Test player VVS Laxman is the captain of Deccan Chargers. India’s fielding coach, Robin Singh is the coach of the team.

6) Mumbai Indians: The Mumbai team is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited for $111.9 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians. Former Team India manager, Lalchand Rajput is the coach of the team.

7) Delhi Daredevils: The Delhi team is owned by GMR Holdings for $84 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Virender Sehwag is the captain of Delhi Daredevils. Australia’s Greg Shipperd is the coach of the team.

8) Rajasthan Royals: The Jaipur team was bought by UK-based company Emerging Media for $67 million to own the team for a period of 10 years. Former Australian spin bowler Shane Warne is both the captain and coach of Rajasthan Royals.

The inaugural tournament started on 18 April 2008 and lasted for 46 days with 59 matches scheduled, out of which 58 took place and 1 was washed out due to rain. The final was played in DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.Rajasthan Royals emerged as the inaugural IPL champions beating Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. The 2009 season coincided with the general elections in India. Due to concerns regarding players' security, the venue was shifted to South Africa. The format of the tournament remained the same as the inaugural one. Deccan Chargers Hyderabad came out as eventual winners of the tournament. The third season opened in January 2010 with the auction for players. 66 players were on offer but only 11 players were sold. No player from Pakistan was selected. Mumbai Indians led by Sachin Tendulkar emerged as strongest contestant for Finals. On 21 March, 2010, Pune and Kochi were unveiled as the two new franchises for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. The base price was $225 million. While Pune was bought by Sahara Adventure Sports Group for $370 million, the Kochi franchise was bought by Rendezvous Sports World Limited for $333.3 million. This will increase the number of franchises from 8 to 10 and the number of matches from 60 to 94 if the same format is used.

Yours

Sandeep Raghvendra Singh

Jodhpur