Apurv Shukla
The Indian Premium League (IPL), the biggest T20 Cricket League in the world will begin its 11th season in Mumbai on April 7, 2018.
Defending Champions ‘Mumbai Indians’ will be looking to win their Fourth IPL Championship, warding off challenges from seven other franchisees, including the returning ‘Rajasthan Royals’ and ‘Chennai Super Kings.
IPL was the brainchild of businessman and former Indian Cricket Board official Lalit Modi.
Now disgraced and embroiled in a host of controversies, Modi set up IPL to counter the rising popularity of the now defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Little did anyone know that the event would turn out to be a phenomenon and acquire a global status.
Auction of Players
The start of IPL 2018 was preceded by a player’s auction held in late January this year.
Purists of the game despised this process.
But clearly, the market forces like the auction and players like Ben Stokes, who was the most expensive buy of the auction (NZ$ 3.1 million) have no reason to complain.
This draft led to a lot of new team combinations now at play in IPL 2018.
Kolkata Knight Riders
‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR), owned by film star Shahrukh Khan, has a new captain in Dinesh Karthik, a new entrant to the team, although an experienced IPL campaigner.
KKR have invested heavily in young players.
Stars of India’s victory at this year’s U-19 World Cup in New Zealand like Shubham Gill and Shivam Mani find a place in this squad. These youngsters are untested at domestic and international level and hence KKR may find the going tough at this IPL.
Gautam Gambhir returns to Delhi as their captain.
Other Teams
‘Delhi Daredevils’ (DD), the perennial underachievers at IPL, have a new coach in former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
The team hopes that their expensive buys like Glen Maxwell and South Africa pace sensation Kagiso Rabada will help them win their first IPL.
Kings 11 Punjab, finalists in 2014, will bank on new captain Ravi Ashwin to turn their fortunes around. Coach Virender Sehwag was instrumental in getting players like Chris Gayle and Yuvraj Singh into the fold. He will now be hoping these players, branded by some as past their prime, help Punjab win games and also make them an attractive proposition for crowds and sponsors alike.
Chennai and Rajasthan make their comeback at IPL after a ban of two years.
Both franchisees will be looking to put off the field matters behind them and let their cricket make headlines.
Rajasthan shunned their approach of previous years in investing on young players priced economically, to spend big on marquee signings.
Alongside Stokes, they spent a large amount of money on left arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
Shane Warne, their winning captain of 2008, returns to the franchisee as the Head Coach.
The IPL Advantage
IPL has given Indian domestic players a chance to rub shoulders with the greats of the game. These players now have an opportunity to showcase their talents to the world.
Since IPL is a domestic tournament of the Indian Cricket Board, a lot of money is being pumped back into domestic cricket.
This improves its visibility and the pay scales for everyone involved.
A clear by-product of corporate involvement in the game is the visible improvement of in-stadia infrastructure and facilities used by players and fans.
There is no doubt that IPL is here to stay.
It is an excellent product and has attracted new legion of fans to the game.
Eight weeks of excellent Cricket await cricket fans.
