Cricket Indian Premier League Guide

Indian Premier League or in short IPL, is a cricket league which originated in India in 2007. In some ways, IPL is more famous than the regular variants of cricket. IPL usually takes place in the spring and early summer seasons of March and May. The league currently consists of 8 teams. These teams represent 8 cities/states in India. The format of IPL is the fast-paced Twenty20, which keeps the games exciting. IPL is hands down the most popular cricket league. Effective broadcasting has been one of the most lucrative ways IPL has spread throughout the globe. With the rising popularity and the compelling need to learn more about IPL, we have prepared a cricket Indian premier league guide for you.

The Indian Premier League holds certain records in the sports world. Back in 2010, IPL graced YouTube with the first sports event to broadcast live. Later on, it was the 

However, before we dissect the 8 teams of IPL, let’s take a look at the background of the most famous cricket league.

Background of Indian Premier League

The story of IPL goes back to 2007 when ICL existed as well. Indian Cricket League was a curation of former Indian cricketer, Kapil Dev. However, ICL did not endure long enough to see the light of the day. The main obstacle in the proper inauguration was the condemnation from the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) as well as the International Cricket Council (ICC). After failing to receive recognition from the cricket gods, by 2009, ICL simply ceased to exist.

On the other hand, IPL was booming under BCCI’s former vice president, Lalit Modi. Essentially the names in association with IPL were partly responsible for its success. This was done via an auction which would determine the ownership of the 8 teams and the cities they were going to be based on.

The 2008 IPL auction is the first of its kind. The auction had franchises based on cities which were sold at a total of $723.59 million. The most popular player on auction was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a former India team captain. Dhoni was the first Indian and most costly player in the ceremony with a total cost of $1.5 million. Meanwhile, Shane Warne holds the record of being the first player ever to be auctioned at an Indian Premier League bidding ceremony. Warne was placed in the team Rajasthan Royals at a bid of $450,000.

There were a total of 77 players up for auction, 48 of which were foreigners. Among the international players, Andrew Symmonds, a former Australian player, was the most expensive bid of $1350,000. After the bidding ceremony was over, the franchises were formed with their squad ready. 

Indian Premier League 2008

Here are the teams in the very first season of Indian Premier League:

1. Delhi Capitals
2. Kings XI Punjab
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Mumbai Indians
5. Royal Challengers Bangalore
6. Chennai Super Kings
7. Rajasthan Royals
8. Deccan Chargers

How does the Indian Premier League auction work?

This auction is what makes IPL most exciting to watch. The bidding ceremony makes the nature of the game most unpredictable due to the shuffling of players each year. This shuffle allows each team to start off on a relatively even ground. IPL auction is not to be taken lightly, since it sets the tone for team performances early on. But how does the auction work? Let’s take a look at this Indian Premier League guide regarding the infamous auction.

When does the auction take place?

The auction takes place every year. However, not all players are available for bidding each year. For all the players to be available in the auction, they have to have an expired contract with their previous franchise. Some franchises are keen on keeping their high-ranking players for their own squad. For instance, the former Indian team captain, MS Dhoni has been a part of Chennai Super Kings since the inception of Indian Premier League itself.

Overall the shuffle of players basically comes down to a few players which can fill the empty spots on a squad. In the 2018 auction for Indian Premier League, all players were available in the bidding pool enabling all squads to choose as they please.

Types of players in auction

Since IPL is essentially an Indian cricket league, there will be more inclination towards Indian players. Therefore there are three categories of which two are dedicated to Indian players. The categories in IPL auction are:

• Capped Indian players
• Uncapped Indian player
• Foreign players

Capped Indian players are the ones who in the past or currently represent the Indian cricket team on an international or higher-ranking national level. Most of these players are famous names in Indian cricket.

Uncapped Indian players are usually players who play domestic level cricket and have never been on an international forum to represent India. These players are the ones who are specifically recruited due to their talent in higher-ranking games later in their career.

Foreign players are as the name suggests, non-Indian players. These players participate from all around the globe most of whom are international well-known players.

All these players get auctioned off to different IPL franchises based on their strategic approach.

The layout of an IPL team

IPL team layouts are usually based on a set format which is in the application when considering players for auction. This layout allows a team to be made up of completely Indian players. However, there is a limit to the number of foreigners in a team.

The minimum number of players in a team can be 18 and no less. Whereas the maximum number can be 25. Among these limits, a team can attain a maximum of 8 foreign players. From these 8 foreign players, only 4 can play in the XI players at the same time. So when it comes to the bidding ceremony, owners of franchises meticulously choose players for their squad from a plethora of cricket players.

They also have to be mindful of the budget they are provided with for the selection of an entire team. Let’s take a look at the budget designated for each team.

The designated budget

To keep things fair, each franchise will be allocated a budget for the bidding war. This approach is taken to exclude any disparity in financial matters of relative teams. All teams follow the same benchmark which allows for a fair auction. For this very measure, the budget is set to INR 80 crores (approximately $11 million). Each franchise is to ensure that the entirety of bids stay within the budget.

Another common practice is to spend half of the budget accumulating the team and rendering the rest to secure high-ranking players. The high-ranking players do not come cheap, therefore allocating funds is a tough job. On top of this, it is mandatory to spend at least 75% of the budget at the auction.

When buying an entire team, the members of the franchise do not spend the entire budget on buying the players. It is also wise to keep something for future engagements.

Setting base prices

Now you may wonder, who is responsible for setting the base price for the players? The answer is: the players themselves have the authority to set their base price. Now when setting base prices, the players have to keep in mind the minimum and maximum limits. The minimum base price should not fall below INR 10 lakh ($14,000), and the maximum has to be INR 2 crore ($275,000). The base price has to be met by each bidder in order to secure the player.

Many players face the unfortunate situation of remaining in the pool without being able to secure a spot on the team. More often than not the reason behind this is the high base price set by the player themselves. Since a lot of work goes into the selection process, it is reasonable to dedicate a price according to performance.

Another question regarding the auction money is: who does it go to? The auction money goes to the players. Essentially, the amount the players are bought at is the price will be paid to them each year throughout the length of their contract. This way the players earn a substantial amount of money. Indian Premier league offers to pay fair wages to the players throughout their contracts. Furthermore, if a player does not play their entire length of the tournament, they still get paid.

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Now that we have dissected the auction ceremony of Indian Premier League we can move on to the teams.

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings are Indian Premier League’s top teams due to owning the highest victory percentage of 61.28% among all other teams. The team is based on the city of Chennai in India’s 11th largest state, Tamil Nadu. The team’s acquisition lies in the hands of the company, India’s Cement since 2008 acquiring for $91 million. The team now owns a separate brand of ownership under the name of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.

Chennai Super Kings career in Indian Premier League has been spectacular so far (if you do not count the suspension in 2016-2017). The team holds 3 championship titles since 2008 along with being runner ups on 4 occasions. In Addition to holding these titles, the team has never missed a chance to appear in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at a brief overview of their performance since the inaugural season.

• 2008

The inaugural season of IPL set the tone for future performances by Chennai Super Kings. The team set the record for the highest score in IPL, 240/5 in 20 overs in their first match against Kings XI Punjab. They eventually made it to the finals facing opponents, Rajasthan Royals. Unfortunately for Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals were crowned as the first champions of Indian Premier League. The champion and runner up from 2008 IPL were to appear in the 2008 Champions League Twenty20. However, due to the Mumbai attacks, the tournament was postponed and eventually cancelled.

• 2009

2009 Indian Premier League saw a little bit of a downfall for the team since they could not enter the finals like the previous tournament. Two of their key players Andrew Flintoff and Michael Hussey were not able to perform. Flintoff being the most expensive player of the season ($1.55 million) suffered an injury after playing just 3 matches for the team. Eventually, the team lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-finals and bid farewell to the 2009 season.

• 2010

2010 brought two victories for the men in yellow. Initially, the team headed off to a rocky start with more losses than victories. However, they were quick to pick up their pace and eventually landed in the finals against Mumbai Indians in their home ground. They were able to secure their first IPL championship title with a victory of 22 runs.

Their victory in the Indian Premier League resulted in securing a spot at the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. Chennai Super Kings faced South Africa’s first-class cricket team Chevrolet Warriors. They defeated them by 8 wickets becoming the first IPL and 2010 Champions League Twenty20 champions.

• 2011

Indian Premier League 2011 was the consecutive year for the Chennai Super Kings to gain the championship title for the second time. However, the start of the season was worse than the previous year with them ending at the bottom of the table. Fortunately, they were always fast at recovering and eventually made it to the finals where they would play against the top-ranking team of the season, Royal Challengers bangalore. It definitely did appear to be a deja vu of the 2009 season. On the contrary, the victory belonged to Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets.

• 2012

In the 2012 season, the Chennai Super Kings while qualifying for the playoffs were not in the best of positions. Nonetheless, their victory in the 3 of the 4 matches allowed them to proceed to the playoffs. Subsequently, their performance did improve over the course of the elimination rounds allowing them to once again reach the finals. With all the bets in their bag, and two prior championship titles backing them, they were up for a hat-trick title in the 2012 tournament. However, their opponent in the final, Kolkata Knight Riders were the one bagging their first Indian Premier League title by 5 wickets.

• 2013

In the 2013 season, the Chennai Super Kings turned things around for themselves by ending up on the top of the points table. This was mainly due to the fact that their newly appointed bowlers would offer a strong bowling attack for their opponents. Consequently, their performance led them to the finals again where they would face Mumbai Indians. Unfortunately, the Chennai Super Kings were not able to secure their 3rd title as the Indian Premier League Champions and were defeated by 23 runs. However, they did proceed to the 2013 Champions League Twenty20, but could not progress further than the semi-finals.

• 2014

The 2014 Indian Premier League season had the Chennai Super Kings at the top of the points table. This was due to their 8 impeccable victories out of 9 group matches. Further moving on in the tournament, the team did not perform as well as the precedent they set. Eventually, the Super Kings did not qualify for the finals and had to exit the tournament in the eliminator round. Fortunately for them, they did manage to make it to the 2014 season of Champions League Twenty20. Their performance was exceptional which did result in them earning their second Championship title.

• 2015

The Chennai Super Kings started off the season again with giving spectacular performances, earning the top spot on the points table. The players were consistent with their performances. Ultimately, the Super Kings made their way back to the finals facing Mumbai Indians. However, the match belonged to the Mumbai Indians and the Super Kings lost by 41 runs.

In the same year, the Champions League Twenty20 was also canceled, due to insufficient viewership and lack of sponsorship for the tournament itself.

• 2016-2017

The consecutive two years were unfortunate for the team who had to face suspension due to the involvement of their owners in illegal betting and match-fixing. The BCCI decided to suspend both Chennai Super Kings along with Rajasthan Royals. The owners, India Cements and Jaipur IPL were allegedly involved in illegal wagering on match results. Such drastic measures were taken because according to Rajendra Mal Lodha, former Chief Justice of India, “Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an extent that there are doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not” 

• 2018

After recovering from the past two years of suspension, the Chennai Super Kings came back strong. The reincarnation of the squad was a boost for their fans as well. The stadiums were consistently full with Chennai Super Kings fans. The team had alternate wins throughout the season and eventually made it to second position in league standings. In the final showdown, they faced Sunriser Hyderabad to battle for their 3rd championship title. Eventually, their efforts were rewarded as the team hailed the trophy for the 3rd time.

• 2019

The performance chart for Chennai Super Kings was on a continuous steep climb. Furthermore, in the 2019 Indian Premier League they were the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Consequently, the Super Kings proceeded to the finals for the 8th time facing their ultimate rivals, the Mumbai Indians. However, the Mumbai Indians were again declared as champions after defeating Chennai Super Kings by a single run in an incredibly thrilling match.

• 2020

The 2020 Indian Premier League was a competitive one in comparison with the rest of the previous tournaments. Each team was in fierce form with bare minimum points differences in the points table. Consequently, the Chennai Super Kings could not make it past the group stages and was at number 7 in the points table.

The Chennai Super Kings hold 3 Indian Premier League Championship titles to their name so far. The team is definitely one of the best ones out there. Even after facing 2 years of suspension, there is little to no effect on their performance graph.

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Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals, formerly known as Delhi Daredevils, till 2018, has been an Indian Premier League full of surprises. The team belongs to the capital of India which is one of the reasons for the name change. The team is under joint ownership with GMR Group and JSW. Their homeground is Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi. The team has had main famous Indian International players throughout their history. Some of the names are Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn McGrath, etc. Furthermore, their team is under coaching of the famous former Australian cricketer, Ricky Ponting.

 Let’s take a look at a brief overview of their performance since the inception of Indian Premier League.

• 2008

Delhi Capitals started off the inaugural season by showing competitive play. The team was 4th on the points table with 15 points and 7 victories out of 14 matches. Consequently, making it to the knockout stages. Their semi-final match against Rajasthan Royals was not a competitive one since the team lost by 105 runs. Therefore, Delhi Capitals bid farewell to their first Indian Premier League tournament.

• 2009

The loss from the previous tournament was an eye opener for the Delhi Capitals. Their performance saw a major boost which ultimately made them reach the top of the group table with 20 points. Players like Sehwag and AB de Villiers were proving to be their Knight in shining armour and led them to several victories. Though as the tournament was progressing to higher rounds, the team was seemingly less inclined towards winning the IPL trophy. Eventually, their participation in the season saw an end in the semi-finals against Deccan Chargers who won by 6 wickets.

• 2010

Gathering the same amount of energy as in the previous season was a challenge for the Delhi Capitals. Seemingly, their losses were more than their victories. Hence, the team in blue could not make it to the knockout stages and had to leave the tournament after facing defeat at the hands of a previous rival, the Deccan Chargers. In their last match against the Deccan Chargers they had to suffer a close defeat of 11 runs.

• 2011

2011 Indian Premier League season has been among the worst seasons for the Delhi Capitals. A substantial number of losses put the team at the bottom of the group table with 9 points only. Even with the new captain, James Hopes, in charge, there was not much that could be done. The 9 losses out of the 14 matches was enough to change the course for the season.

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• 2012

If one is keeping track of the most unpredictable team in the Indian Premier League, they will definitely have Delhi Capitals on their list. Suffering such devastating losses in the past two seasons, the team was quick to turn their performance 180 degrees. After staying at the bottom of the group in 2011, the Delhi Capitals again seem to appear on top of the group table with 22 points.

Under the leadership of the Sri Lankan player, Mahela Jayawardene, they made it to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they were up against Chennai Super Kings, who would defeat them by 86 runs. Delhi Capitals performance did go on a steep rise in the 2012 season. However a controversy was surrounding the Australian player Glenn McGrath. McGrath left the Delhi Capitals since he was not allowed to play a single match in the season.

• 2013

The unpredictability of Delhi Capitals strikes once again in the 2013 season. After playing a rather phenomenal past season, the team again found themselves at the bottom of the table with only 6 points. These 6 points were from the 3 games they won out of the 16. The new captain Ross Taylor could not do much for the team either.

• 2014

Yet another captaincy change was made before the season began. This time it would be the Australian cricketer, David Warner. However, the team did not seem to see any improvement, and 2014 was just like the previous year for the Delhi Capitals with 4 points rendering them at the bottom of the table again. Out of the 14 matches, the squad could only manage to win 2.

• 2015

2015 was the year when fans and critics were all in arms against the Delhi Capitals. Their streak of bad performances was garnering criticism like wildfire. However, this criticism had little  impact on the execution of their playing techniques. Consequently, the team once again saw themselves at the second last position of the table with 11 points.

• 2016

After a few rough seasons, the Delhi Capitals were able to revamp their game a bit. They were able to begin the season with an impressive start this time under a new and batting coach, Rahul Dravid. There were certain improvements which made many believe Delhi Capitals will make it to the playoffs. However, this was not to pan out. Eventually, the blue shirts would have to leave the tournament after an elimination defeat by the runner-ups that season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

• 2017

The 2017 season was pretty much the same as the previous one. For the Delhi Capitals, it was not much different since they were to face elimination during the group stages with 12 points. The 5 consecutive defeats in the middle of the group stages can be labeled as one of the causes for an inevitable elimination.

• 2018

For the 11th season of Indian Premier League, Gautam Gambhir took upon himself the responsibility of captaincy. However, after the disappointing performance of his team he had to step down. Furthermore, the Indian Legend also departed from being the coach who was replaced by Ricky Ponting. The team with all the changes in leadership retain their position at the bottom of the table.

• 2019

Some new appointments, including the one of Sourav Ganguly as the official advisor, would change things for the Delhi Capitals. After the 7 year curse of facing elimination in group stages, the Delhi Capitals final were able to make it to the playoffs. After an exceptional season on their part, they ended up as the second runner-ups after facing Chennai Super Kings in the semi-final.

• 2020

After 12 whole years, 2020 a year bad for the entire humanity was not so bad for the Delhi Capitals. The team made it to the finals to face the 4 time champions the Mumbai Indians. They did not win the finale, however, their gameplay was stupendous throughout the season with 8 victories in the bag.

Up till now the Delhi Capitals hold no Indian Premier League championship titles to their name.

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