The league that changed the face of Indian cricket

Renowned football players like Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard have a global fan-following, not because of the countries they represent but for the club they ply their trade in the English Premier League, which has gone on the become the most-watched football league in the world with over 1.46 billion viewership. This is probably what Lalit Modi, the then Vice-President of the BCCI, envisoned when the BCCI launched a cricket league of its own-the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.

Now, in its eightj year, the IPL has developed into the most lucrative and most popular outlet for the T20 game of cricket. It has not only cut across barriers of nations, ethnicity and culture, but also given unknown players a platform to earn a name for themselves in world cricket. For example, in world cricket many wouldn't raise an eye to the name of  Paul Valthaty, but in the IPL universe, he always would be remebered for his heroics in the 2011 IPL for Kings XI Punjab. Stars were born and suddenly Dhawans, Nayars, Mishras, Dindas, Asnodkars and Maheshs were recognized and admired. 

The owners of the IPL franchises, who included major companies, Bollywood film stars, and media moguls, bid for the best players in auctions organized by the league. At the outset of the IPL, the Mumbai Indians, owned by Mukesh Ambani, had the league's biggest payroll, more than $100 million. It cost the Chennai Super Kings $1.5 million to secure the services of Mahendra Dhoni in the initial auction. Of the 10 teams to have competed since its inception, only five have emerged victorious-Rajasthan Royals (1), Deccan Chargers (1), Chennai Super Kings (2), Kolkata Knight Riders (2) and Mumbai Indians (1). 

The inaugral tournament, held over 44 days in 2008, was won by the Rajasthan Royals, one of the smaller-market franchises, captained by Shane Warne. The inaugral IPL was the first and the last time Pakistani players were allowed to play in the league, and were banned from its later stages due to the 26/11 terroist attacks in Mumbai. The league, though shot to limelight players like Shaun Marsh, Yusuf Pathan, Sohail Tanvir (highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets) and Player of the tournament Shane Watson (474 runs, 17 wickets).

With the general elections in India due in May-April, the IPL had to be shifted to South Africa in 2009 with the government not able to provide assurances of player safety. However, the tournament turned out to be a major success and had set a record television viewership. The tournament was won by Deccan Chargers under the leadership of Adam Gilchrist. The year will be memorable for Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who became the first Indian to score a maiden IPL century. The orange cap went to Aussie Mathew Hayden (572), while the purple cap was held by RP Singh (23 wickets).

The third edition the IPL in 2010, however, returned to India and more than on-field play, activities off the field received most attention. Many had objected to cheerleaders being used in the games and late night parties being used to bribe players into fixing added fuel to the controversy. Moreover, a bomb explosion in Bangalore before a match created a flutter which led to the semi-finals being shifted out of the city. Nonetheless, the glitzy tournament suffered no harm in its reputation and Chennai Super Kings walked away with the honours. Sachin Tendulkar with 618 runs and Pragyan Ojha with 21 scalps were the orange and purple cap winners respectively.

In 2011, the IPL saw the birth of two new teams- Sahara Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers, but the tournament had its share of controversy as well. It was alleged that Lalit Modi aided politician Shashi Tharoor in bidding for the Kochi team, resulting in his resignation from the Central government. This led to investigations by various departments of the government into the financial dealings of IPL and the other existing franchisees. Lalit Modi was axed from the BCCI and has since gone into hiding in US. The trophy was successfully defended by Chennai Super Kings, with Chris Gayle (608 runs) being the highest scorer and Lasith Malinga (28) taking the most wickets.

Reduced to nine teams (Kochi team was terminated), the 2012 edition of the IPL was won by Gautam Gambhir led Kolkata Knight Riders. This edition was high on entertainment quotient and produced the maximum last over finishes at 19 games. Chris Gayle was at his destructive best in the tournament and walked away with the orange cap with 708 runs, while South Africa's Morne Morkel was the purple cap holder with 25 scalps.

The IPL's reputation received a serious jolt in 2013 with five players of the Rajasthan Royals- Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila being arrested from Mumbai's Trident Hotel by Delhi Police along with seven bookies on charges of spot-fixing in the tournament. Later, BCCI President N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra's name also cropped up in the betting case. Mumbai Indians lifted the trophy defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final. Michael Hussey (733 runs) and Dwayne Bravo (32 wickets) were the orange and purple cap winners respectively.

Again due to the general elections, the 2014 edition of the IPL had to be shifted out of the country and this time a part of the tournament was held in UAE. The tournament was won for the second time by Kolkata Knight Riders defeating Kings XI Punjab. Robin Uthappa (660 runs) and Mohit Sharma (23 wickets) took away the batting and bowling honours respectively.