How IPL changed the dynamics of Indian cricket

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Twenty20 cricket became phenomenally popular after India won the inaugural World Twenty20 title in 2007 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The victory not only rejuvenated the Indians fans, who were reeling under the disappointment of the 2007 ODI World Cup, but it also gave way to the conceptualization of the Indian Premier League that has since then not only cashed on the craze but has also changed the way cricket is played in India.

Brain child of the then BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, the IPL was launched in 2008 with much fanfare as a competitive response to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that was not recognized by the BCCI. Since then the IPL has not only come out as the clear victor but has given birth to various T20 leagues around the world and is the most-attended cricket league in the world. The ICL, with controversies of non-payment and fixing, folded up in 2009.

Following the same format as that of English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the IPL works on a franchise system that were put for auction, where the highest bidder won the rights to own the team, representing each city. The first IPL auction took place on January 24, 2008 and the total base price for the auction was $400 million. The auction went on to fetch $723.59 million.

The Mumbai franchise (Mumbai Indians) owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was the most expensive franchise – fetching $111.9 million closely followed by Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries which paid $111.6 million for the Bangalore franchise (Royal Challengers Bangalore). Media house Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad franchise (Deccan Chargers) for $107 million, while India Cements’ Chennai franchise (Chennai Super Kings) cost $91 million.

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