The Indian Premier League has been the standard-bearer for cricket’s T20 tournaments around the world ever since Brendon McCullum blasted h...
The Indian Premier League has been the standard-bearer for cricket’s T20 tournaments around the world ever since Brendon McCullum blasted his way to an epic 158* on the opening night for Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In response, the hosts (who opened the run-chase with Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer) could manage only just more than 50% of what the former New Zealand captain scored at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on that April night in 2008.
Cricket has never been the same since.
Sure, the tournament has been through its share of controversies over the years (none bigger than the spot-fixing scandal that threatened to shake the very foundations of Indian cricket in the long run) but the IPL has only gone from strength to strength. It would not be an understatement to say it is the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s golden goose.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are, without doubt, the most successful franchises in the tournament’s history, sharing seven out of the 12 championships so far. Out of the 12 finals till date, only three have featured neither side.
As things stand, with coronavirus wreaking havoc on the sporting calendar, IPL 2020 may not happen. The tournament was scheduled...
