Table of Contents:

• Quick Summary
• IPL: A Peek behind the Curtain
• SPICY IPL CONTROVERSIES LEFT AND RIGHT
• HOW IPL BECAME A MONEY MAKING MACHINE
• IPL’S SUCCESS SAGA : A LOOK THROUGH ITS TRAJECTORY
• PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT THIS SEASON IN IPL 2023
• IPL : MORE THAN JUST CRICKET

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Quick Summary:

In 2007, the Indian cricket team snatched a victory in the Inaugural ICC T20 world cup finale as they played against Pakistan. The team lifted the cup and became the first team to win at ICC T20 world cup. It was definitely a match to remember as Indian people celebrated this victory all day and all night. Following its victory, the BCCI (Board of control for cricket in India) started a T20 franchise cricket league in India, naming it “Indian Premier League” (IPL).

The teams which are currently active are based in the regions such as Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Lucknow, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bangalore & Hyderabad. The teams based in Pune and Kerala are defunct now as they were ruled out from the league for different reasons. The player composition is of players from different nationalities and this naturally garners an audience from different countries.

The Inaugural IPL match happened in 2008 and it was a massive success across the world right from the get go. Brendon McCullum , the swashbuckling opener and current coach of Kolkata (IPL team) , dismantled the opposition bowling attack by scoring an unbeaten 158 runs off 73 balls to script his way into the record books. Heads turned towards the Indian cricket board as a result of the buzz around the Indian Premier League. It quickly became a widely celebrated league and started pouring in millions in terms of adverts and other means.

Alongside all the positive things, a lot of controversies float around the Indian Premier League. Some of them are spicy and some are shocking. Let’s take a peek behind the curtains and let’s have a look at all the shades of IPL in and out.

IPL - A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Let’s take a peek behind the curtain of the entity called IPL In order to understand the other things that happen behind it. From the outside, IPL might seem like a basic cricket match which happens between two teams, but there is a big business that happens behind it.

The lucrative star-studded event is a complete entertainment package associated with different economic concepts, such as investments, brand strategies, IPL for GDP growth, etc. The impact this sporting event has had on the Indian economy since its first day is impeccable.

Here are some of the factors behind IPL that gets affected,

A BOON FOR INDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY

Every year, during the IPL season, there is a massive boost in the revenue generated from international tourism. As there are many international players who play in the league, the fans of these particular players automatically gravitated towards the tournament, resulting in them visiting India to watch their favs play.

Cox & Kings, one of the famous travel companies, has stated that the IPL led to a 30% increase in travel revenue for them. People from all over the world travel to India and it is massive in number during the IPL season.

PUTTING INDIAN CRICKET ON THE WORLD MAP

According to data collected on economic times in India, In 2019, the IPL T20 contest broke all previous viewership records, with 462 million clicks and a watch time of 338 billion minutes recorded in the 12th edition. The cricket league has gained sponsorship from top tier companies such as Coca-Cola, Maruti Suzuki, MRF, PhonePe etc.

The league is also acting as a scouting event for many cricket boards across the world, as young and emerging players from all over the world take part and play in IPL. Many new players have been noticed and recruited just because of their performance in the IPL.

HARDIK PANDYA was brought up by Mumbai for 20 lakhs. People had their skepticism around Pandya, but the man delivered on almost all the occasions and became one of the best all-rounders in the tournament.. As a result of this, he won his ticket to land in the playing 11 for the national team in a very short time. Arguably, one of the finest finds from IPL.

AN ECONOMIC BOOST FOR LOCAL BUSINESS

During the IPL season, there’s a surge in travel business, accommodation business, and eating ventures around the venues and stadiums. The number of check-ins increases during the 60-day tournament, and travelers from around the world love to experiment with different Indian cuisines.

The hotels around the respective venues are completely filled during the entire 60 days of the tournament.

ECONOMIC GROWTH OF INDIA

The IPL has been contributing massive profits to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of India. Massive branding, crazy fan support, and a tremendous fan following worldwide have led to a constant rise in the GDP of a nation.

As per KPMG’s ( Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler is a firm which provided audit and consulting services to businesses) survey report, the 60-day tournament yielded INR USD 182 million.

It is worth noting and analyzing a country’s GDP increase solely as a result of a cricket tournament.

SPICY IPL CONTROVERSIES LEFT AND RIGHT

While the league is majorly focused on fun filled, entertaining matches on a daily basis, there are tons of controversies around IPL. Let’s start with some of the spicy controversies that are around the Giant firm called IPL.

I ) Harbajan - Sreeshanth’s slap controversy.

In 2008, Let’s start with the slap incident involving Mumbai Indians spinner Harbajan Singh and Kings 11 Punjab’s bowler Sreeshanth. The exact reason for the incident remains a mystery, but the rumours are that Sreeshanth’s words might have upset Harbajan Singh. Punjab won this match against the Mumbai Indians.

II ) Lalit Modi suspended by BCCI

The IPL founder and chairman, Mr. Lalit Modi was banned from all forms of cricketing firms after finding him guilty for misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities. IN 2013, BCCI investigated Mr Lalit Modi and he got a permanent ban after he was found guilty for the charges. The founder of IPL itself getting banned became a big controversy back then.

III ) King Khan’s ugly exchange at Wankhede

On May 16, 2012, Mr Shah rukh Khan (SRK) aka King Khan was banned from entering Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium after his ugly exchange with the security guards on the match day. Mr. Khan was walking into the pitch after his team’s victory over Mumbai Indians, and things went a bit nasty between him and the security guards. As a result of this, he was banned from entering the Wankhede stadium, but the ban was reversed in 2015.

IV ) Allegations from the Cheerleaders

South African cheerleader Gabriella Pasqualotto (cheer leader of MI) created a big shock among the cricketing sphere during the fourth edition of the IPL after she revealed the questionable conduct of cricketers at post-match parties. Players of Australian and South African national teams were mainly accused of it.She was fired from her role as a cheerleader by the IPL, but that didn’t help the situation in any way.Cheerleaders are nowhere to be found these days during the IPL matches.

V ) Ban on Sri Lankan and Pakistan players

Due to the political tension between neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka, several decisions were taken during the IPL season regarding the players from the mentioned countries. Pakistani players were banned from participating in the IPL due to some political reasons and also with keeping players’ safety in mind.

In 2013, Sri Lankan players were banned from playing in Chennai during the IPL because of political reasons, such as the way Tamils were treated in Sri Lanka. Ban on Pakistani players still remains.

VI ) Spot Fixing Scandals

The Rajasthan Royals trio of Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan were accused of spot-fixing by the Delhi police, and the police claimed that they had evidence to prove it.

In 2015, Other big guns such as BCCI chief N. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Royals’ owner Raj Kundra were also accused by the police and both of them were banned for life from all cricketing activities.

VII ) Popular teams suspension

The Supreme Court-appointed three-member panel suspended Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals for two years as part of big-ticket reforms to Indian cricket. Chennai Super Kings later came back to the IPL once the ban was lifted.

These are some of the spicy controversies that revolved around IPL and have definitely left some strains on the firm.

VIII )Sourav Ganguly dumped by KKR

Sourav Ganguly  was made the captain of the team for their first season, but they were unable to reach the semi-finals. However, he was removed from his captaincy in 2009 and was also not included as a player in the team before the 2011 auction.

His falling out with Australia’s coach, John Buchanan, was also a factor that led to his dismissal from the team. 

HOW IPL BECAME A MONEY MAKING MACHINE

Indian Premier League has become a prominent figure in the global cricket scene as it is constantly pumping out good players, garnering millions of viewers from across the globe and pouring in money for the BCCI via adverts, player deals, sponsorships, viewerships etc. It literally became the lottery ticket for the BCCI and the board grew greatly after the bloom of IPL.

The spirit of IPL instantly catches among audiences across India every year during the IPL season and it doesn’t seem like slowing down anytime soon.

“The broadcasting rights of IPL 2018 were sold for a whopping Rs 16347.5 crore to Star India Network, Reportedly, it meant that 1 ball would cost approximately Rs 21 lakh”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) walked home with ₹48,390 crore after the record-breaking bidding concluded on June 14 2022. With this, India’s biggest sporting event has witnessed an increase of 3X when compared to the previous cycle, with the National Football League (NFL) ahead by a small margin at $17 million.

The television rights and the satellite live streaming rights also brings in big money to the table for discussion and agreement. It goes as follows,

	PACK A	PACK B	PACK C	PACK D
RIGHTS	TV rights (Includes all matches)	Digital Streaming rights (Includes all matches)	Digital streaming rights (only for 18 matches)	Rest of the world
PRICE	23,575 crores/-	20,500 crores/-	3,250 crores/-	1,058 crores/-
WINNER	DISNEY HOTSTAR	VIACOM 18	VIACOM 18	VIACOM 18 & TIMES INTERNET

IPL’S SUCCESS SAGA : A LOOK THROUGH ITS TRAJECTORY

IPL has grown to be a big thing in the past five years from the time it started. The Indian premier league was started in 2008 and it has slowly climbed up the ladder in terms of popularity and all other means. Now, IPL is the world’s second largest sporting league right after the National Football league (NFL).

According to the BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed ₹1,150 crore (US$140 million) to the GDP of the Indian economy. There have been 15 seasons since then and things have progressed greatly. In 2022, Indian Premier League valuation jumped 75% to $10.9 billion. Also, when it comes to the teams, some of the teams have changed their names, some have left the tournament and some have come in mid journey.

One of the major reasons for consistent growth in IPL depends on the time period the tournament takes place every year. The tournament is usually held between the months of April and May when schools, as well as colleges, have summer vacations in India.

The matches usually start around 7:30 pm-8 pm in the night and get over before 12am. This period of 7:30 pm -11:30 pm is crucial as this is the time when most of the people sit before their television sets for entertainment before going to sleep.

Along with the viewership growth and the money which surrounds IPL, the price money for the winners has also increased drastically. In 2008, the price money for the winners was 4.8 crores. In 2022, the average salary for the winning team would be around 20 core and that’s not even close to its original numbers by any margin.

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT THIS SEASON IN IPL 2023

Lockie Ferguson:

Lockie Ferguson has been bought by Gujarat Titans for 10 crore Indian rupees in the 2023 IPL auction. The man is from the New Zealand international cricket team and has been in great form recently. We can definitely expect interesting stuff from him during IPL 2023.

Credits: BCCI

Deepak Chahar:

Deepak Chahar is an indian right-arm medium pace bowler and has been performing really well recently. Chennai Super Kings, one of the top teams in IPL have bagged Deepak chahar for 14 crore INR and the fans have big hopes on him.

Credits: BCCI

Prasidh Krishna:

Prasidh Krishna is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He is a right-arm medium fast bowler who clocks on an average of 135 km/h. Rajasthan Royals have bagged him for 10 crore INR. Watch out for him.

Credits: BCCI

Josh Hazlewood:

Josh Hazlewood is a Right-Arm Fast Medium Bowler from Australia and he is well known for his accuracy. People refer to him as Glenn McGrath at times and his stats speaks for him. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have bagged him for 7.75 crore INR. Will he change the fate of RCB? We have to wait to know the answer.

Credits: BCCI

Mark Wood:

Mark Wood is an England based cricketer who plays for an international cricket team. Right arm fast paced bowler and he has played for CSK in IPL in the past. In 2023, Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) bought him for 7.75 crore INR. LSG needs a proper fast paced bowler and Mark wood could come in handy.

Credits: BCCI

Ishan Kishan:

Ishan Kishan is an India based batsman and plays for India in the international cricket team. He can also do wicket keeping and that gives him +1 brownie points. Mumbai Indians (MI), one of the top teams in the IPL have bagged Ishan Kishan for over 15 crore INR. Will he create an impact on behalf of MI? Stay tuned.

Credits: BCCI

IPL : MORE THAN JUST CRICKET

Even Though IPL had many controversies, it has revolutionized the way people consume the sport and has definitely changed the course for the Indian cricket board (BCCI). New players emerge from the league every year and the tournament never fails to let us down when it comes to memorable and nail biting moments. IPL is here to stay and the craze over it among the fans doesn’t seem like slowing down any time soon.