The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a remarkable commercial success. Its creation was a result of private television channels feuding over the broadcasting rights of international cricket in India. In 2004, after failing to acquire television rights from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Zee Entertainment initiated the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Formally launched in 2007, Subhash Chandra, owner of the Essel Group, was the driving force behind this league. As ICL matches were broadcast by Zee Sports and played at smaller venues in Panchkula, Haryana, the BCCI had no administrative and financial control over them. BCCI’s interests were dampened, too, perhaps because these matches did not help the Indian board earn revenues. So, to counter this league, the BCCI launched the IPL in April 2008. Generating a revenue of ₹645 crore ($75 million approximately) in its opening season alone, the surplus figures rose to a staggering ₹5,120 crore ($600 million approximately) in 2023. The total brand value of the leading IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru amounts to a hefty $10.7 billion.
Despite their cultural and linguistic differences, numerous Indian cricketers have played the role of translators for their English-speaking teammates. Martin Guptill and Kyle Jamieson from New Zealand have expressed eagerness to learn Hindi from Indian players. Also, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Hayden and David Warner’s fondness for Indian dishes signifies how IPL has popularised Indian cuisine to the world. Dwane Bravo has featured in the Tamil film Ula as an actor, apart from recording songs with Punjabi singer Jassi Gill. Brett Lee and Asha Bhosle have recorded a music album. Hayden, Bravo and Steven Smith have expressed their fascination for ethnic Indian attire. These are just a few of the examples that display the pervasiveness of the sport and how it has intertwined cricket with Indian culture.
The Origin Story
India’s triumph in the first Twenty-20 World Cup in 2007 provided BCCI with the final push to set up the IPL. To ensure the success of their own league, the BCCI did not give recognition to the ICL. The International Cricket Council (ICC), too, did not approve the ICL. As Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru locked horns in IPL’s opening match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 18 April 2008, a new era dawned on the history of Indian cricket. The IPL put the BCCI, already one of the wealthiest governing bodies of cricket, on the world stage. As BBCI’s earnings from the ICC soar from 22.4 per cent to 38.5 per cent, it is obvious that the Indian board will influence decision-making in the ICC. This marks a shift in power from Western countries to their non-Western counterparts in the sphere of global cricket governance.
The commercial success of the IPL has remained unrivalled when compared to the Kerry Packer World Series Cricket (1977) in Australia and the Twenty-20 initiated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (2003). In IPL’s 2025 season, the combination of television and advertising revenues is projected to hit $600 million. It is giving tough competition to the English Premier League which generates over $10 billion in revenues. During the first season in 2008, IPL’s governing body introduced the concept of icon players. The idea was to highlight Indian cricket geniuses to the world. Despite the presence of renowned foreign cricketers who captained their IPL teams—Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, David Warner and Pat Cummins—only Indian players could become “icons”. Hence, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh were chosen as icons for their franchises. IPL happens to be the first-ever cricket league that has introduced the impact-player substitution rule. It provides choice to the batting and fielding side to include suitable replacements as per their requirements. These aspects have made the IPL a unique cricket league.
