All you wanted to know about IPL

What is the Indian Premier League?
It’s a Twenty20 tournament involving eight teams (cities), starting April 18 and ending on June 1. Launched on September 14, 2007, it’ll be organized by the BCCI and has the sanction of the ICC. The model, based on the same lines as the English Premier League (EPL) in football and the National Basketball League (NBA) in the US, is franchise-based and the eight teams will be owned by a host of businessmen and celebrities. The players will be bought through auction and will represent the teams/cities who bid for them. The matches will be played on home and away basis.

Who has the TV rights of IPL?
Sony Television and Singapore-based World Sports Group, who paid a whopping $1billion to bag the rights for 10 years.

Which are the eight teams and their franchisees?
1. Mumbai (Mukesh Ambani)
2. Hyderabad (Deccan Chronicle)
3. Kolkata (Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment)
4. Chennai (India Cements)
5. Delhi (GMR Holdings)
6. Bangalore (Vijay Mallya)
7. Mohali (Preity Zinta & Ness Wadia)
8. Jaipur (Emerging Media)

What is the money involved?
Overall prize money is US$5million, with the winners getting $2m. The remaining money will be given in the form of awards like ‘man-of-the-match’ etc.

How much does the Board get?
The BCCI has earned $723.59m from the ‘sale’ of the eight teams. On top of that, the Board will get around $1billion from the sale of TV rights.

Will the IPL dates clash with cricket seasons of other countries?
For India, no. It’s off-season here. But it clashes with the tours of other countries. The BCCI plans to sort this out during the ICC chief executives’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Some other salient features of the IPL are...
*The franchisees will have the freedom to run the teams in their own style, bring their own sponsors and even name the team as they wish (after consulting the IPL board)
* After the auction in the inaugural year, they will be free to trade their players, as is done in various leagues around the world
* The players also get a share in the profits, starting from TV revenue, gate money and merchandising
* The teams can be listed on the stock exchange
* Top players in the teams are expected to earn a minimum of Rs 1-2 crore per season as guarantee money. They are also slated to get salaries on which there won’t be any cap
* All IPL matches will be played under lights, as per ICC rules. The League will feature a total of 59 matches that would be spread over 44 days. All matches will be played on Saturdays and Sundays plus one yet-to-be-decided weekday. There will be two matches per day, the start time being 5pm
* The IPL governing council will be in charge of running, operating and managing the league independently