Indian Premier League, The Cricket Carnival

Yes, the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL), the name itself is enough to make people go crazy. It became one of the best platforms for entertainment. This tournament is one of the most watched entertainment sports where stadiums are crowded with the cricket fans all the time. Some avid enthusiasts of IPL are seen yelling and celebrating while watching the game.

HOW IT STARTED?

Twenty- twenty (T20) mode of cricket was introduced in the year 2003 in England. In India, IPL became a professional T20 cricket league in 2008, which is contested during the months of April and May, every year, by teams representing 8 Indian cities and some states. The league was founded by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by its founder and former commissioner, Lalit Modi.

There have been 11 seasons of the IPL and the current IPL title holders are the CHENNAI SUPER KINGS, who won the 2018 season. The next season starts on March 23,2019.

WHY PEOPLE LOVE IPL?

Be it a young chap or the elderly person, they all follow the IPL.Not only in India, but also in many parts of the world, the IPL brought in a revolution. Inspired by the IPL, the Big Bash League and the Caribbean Premier League and various other leagues across the world were started.

There is a lot of effort behind the growth of the IPL and the cricketers are the biggest beneficiary of this. But it would not have been successful without the warmth of the fans.

What makes people wait eagerly for IPL every year?

• TIMING AND DURATION OF MATCHES- T20 brought in a new genre of spectators who preferred the format because of its shorter duration of 3 hours. The organizers did a fantastic job in choosing the evening timings, as it ensured that fans could complete their daily work to enjoy the matches.

• LOYALTY- The sports leagues are nothing without the loyalty of the fans, who support based on the cities they belong to. If a fan doesn’t confine to any of the cities represented by the teams, then they support the team of iconic players whom they love.

• INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS' INFLUENCE- It has been every cricket fan's dream to watch the greats of the games together on the field. The fans go crazy when they see AB de Villers and Virat Kohli play together on the field. Many international players playing with the young Indian players elevated the level of the league.

IPL brought everyone in the family back to the game of cricket. IPL became a topic of family discussions and no one wanted to be caught unware on the latest happenings of the league. All this meant that the IPL indeed became a carnival to be enjoyed with family.