In 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event to broadcast live on YouTube.[6][7] In 2014, it ranked sixth in attendance among all sports leagues.[8] Inspired by the success of the IPL, other Indian sports leagues have been established.[a][11][12] The IPL is the second-richest sports league in the world by per-match value, after the National Football League.[13] In 2023, the league sold its media rights for the next four seasons for US$6.4 billion to Viacom18 and Star Sports,[14] which meant that each IPL match was valued at $13.4 million.[15] As of 2025, there have been 18 seasons of the tournament. The current champions are the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who won the 2025 season after defeating the Punjab Kings in the final.
On 13 September 2007, as the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 began, the BCCI launched the Indian Premier League, an annual franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition.[24] The inaugural season was scheduled to start in April 2008, commencing with a "high-profile ceremony" in New Delhi. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who led the IPL initiative, provided details of the tournament, including its format, prize money, franchise revenue system, and squad composition rules. The league, to be managed by a seven-person governing council, would also serve as the qualifying mechanism for that year's Champions League Twenty20.[24][25]
In 2009, the BCCI and other national boards offered amnesty to rival ICL's players and officials, provided they terminated their contracts. The resulting player exodus and financial difficulties forced ICL to shut down later that year.[28][29][30]
New franchises, Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, joined the league before the fourth season in 2011.[31] The Sahara Adventure Sports Group purchased the Pune franchise for $370 million, while Rendezvous Sports World bought the Kochi franchise for $333.3 million.[31] The Kochi franchise was terminated after just one season due to their failure to pay the BCCI the 10% bank guarantee element of the franchise fee.[32]
In September 2012, the Deccan Chargers franchise agreement was terminated after the BCCI failed to find new owners.[33] In October, an auction was held for a replacement franchise; Sun TV Network won the bid for what became the Hyderabad franchise;[34] the team was named Sunrisers Hyderabad.[35]
Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL in May 2013 due to financial differences with the BCCI.[36] The BCCI officially terminated the franchise in October, and the league reverted to eight teams.[37]
The IPL's headquarters are located in the Cricket Centre, next to the Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate, Mumbai. The Governing Council is responsible for the league's functions, including the organization of tournaments. As of March 2025[update], its members included:[55]
The 2022 season of the IPL offered total prize money of ₹46.5 crore (equivalent to ₹49croreorUS$5.8million in 2023), with the winning team netting ₹20 crore (equivalent to ₹21croreorUS$2.5million in 2023) and the second-placed team ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹14croreorUS$1.6million in 2023).[58][59] League rules mandate that half of any prize money must be distributed among the franchise's players.[60] Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first IPL title in 2025, receiving ₹20 crore, while runners-up Punjab Kings earned ₹12 crore.[61]
Rules and format
The IPL has several rules which vary from the established laws of cricket or those used in other Twenty20 leagues:
IPL games incorporate television timeouts. Each team is given a two-and-a-half-minute "strategic time-out" during each innings. One must be taken by the bowling team between the conclusion of the 6th and 9th overs and the other by the batting team between the end of the 13th and 16th overs. A penalty may be imposed if umpires find teams misusing this privilege.[62]
Since the 2018 season, the Decision Review System (DRS) has been used in all IPL matches, allowing each team two opportunities in each innings to review an on-field umpire's decision.[63] From the 2023 season, this was extended to allow the review of wides and no-balls.[64]
If the bowling team does not complete its overs in the allocated time, it may place only four fielders outside of the fielding restrictions circle for the remainder of the innings,[64] or the match referee may impose financial sanctions on the bowling team after the match, with players fined a proportion of their match fee.[65]
Teams can use a substitute, termed an "impact player", from a list of five players named as possible substitutes. The substitution can be made before the start of the innings, when a wicket falls, when a batter retires or at the end of an over. Both teams can introduce a substitute once per match.[66][67]
Teams can declare their playing eleven to the match referee before or after the toss.[66]
A five-run penalty is imposed if a fielder or wicket-keeper makes an unfair movement while the bowler is bowling and the ball is designated as dead ball.[68][64][66]
Teams can include a maximum of four overseas players in their playing eleven. If a team wants an overseas player as impact player, then it must include a maximum of three overseas players in their playing eleven.[67]
Squads can include a maximum of 25 players, including up to eight overseas players.[69]
Since the 2024 season, bowlers have been allowed to deliver two bouncers an over. This change in playing conditions was trialled during the 2023–24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament.[70]
A team can acquire players through the annual player auction, trading with other teams during trading windows, and signing replacements for unavailable players.
Player acquisition
For the 2025 IPL season, the total salary cap for each team is ₹120 crore. Each team must spend at least 75% of their total salary cap. Each squad must have a minimum of 18 players, a maximum of 25 players and a maximum of 8 overseas players.
Auction
Before the auction, teams are permitted to retain a select number of players for the following season. The rules for retaining players are determined by the league prior to each auction. The salaries of retained players are deducted from the team's salary cap prior to the auction.[81] These players do not participate in the auction and merely continue with their current franchise.
The auction usually takes place in the winter months, in the middle of the IPL's offseason. Players who are not retained, and players who were not attached to a team in the previous tournament, can enter the auction. Each player signs up for the auction, sets their base price and plays for the highest-bidding franchise.[82] Once purchased, the final bid determines the player's salary for that season, and the amount is deducted from the salary cap. Unsold players at the auction can become replacement signings for injured or unavailable players.
The league holds an auction every year, but every 3 years the league will hold a 'mega auction'.[83][84] At this mega auction, teams can only retain a small number of players (6 players at the most recent mega auction)[84] and are required to release a majority of their squad to the auction pool. This system is designed to ensure parity between teams as it forces them to rebuild their squads at regular intervals. Non-mega auctions, where teams can retain a high number of players, are often called 'mini-auctions'.[85]
If a team wants to retain a player who does not want to be retained, the player can request to be traded or released into the auction pool. However, the team has the final say in whether or not to trade or release them. The exception to this is at a mega auction, when the player can demand to be released into the auction pool even if the team intends to retain them.[86]
Trades
Trades require player consent, and any contract differences are covered by the franchise. There are typically three trading windows: two before the auction and one before the tournament. No trading is allowed outside these windows or during the tournament, but replacements can be signed before or during the IPL.
Contracts and salaries
Other notable rules, as of the 2024 season, include:
The salary cap of the entire squad have been allotted a purse of ₹120 crore each.[87]
Under-19 players cannot be picked unless they have previously played first-class or List A cricket.[88]
Player contracts run for one year but can be extended by one or two years if the franchises take up the option. Since the 2014 season, player contracts have been denominated in the Indian rupee, before which the contracts were in the US dollar. Overseas players can be remunerated in the currency of the player's choice, at the exchange rate on either the contract due date or the actual payment date.[89] Before the 2014 season, Indian domestic players were not included in the player auction pool. They could be signed up by franchises at a discrete amount while a fixed sum of ₹10 lakh (US$12,000) to ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) would be deducted per signing from the franchise's salary purse. This received significant opposition from franchise owners, who complained richer franchises were "luring players with under-the-table deals." The IPL later decided to include domestic players in the player auction.[90]
The BCCI give 10% of foreign players' salaries to their country's national cricket board.[91]
Based on a 2024 report by Forbes India, the average IPL salary among the top 10 highest-paid players is ₹12.37 crore,[92] the second-highest of sports leagues in the world. Because players in the IPL are contracted only for the duration of the tournament– less than two months– the weekly IPL salaries are extrapolated pro data to obtain an average annual salary, unlike other sports leagues in which players are contracted by a single team for the entire year.[93]
According to a report by The Telegraph, IPL players are paid 18% of the revenue, which is the lowest amount compared to other major sports leagues, in which players receive at least 50% of the revenue. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations said that IPL players must be paid fairly.[94][95][96]
Here is a table listing the most expensive player acquisitions in each Indian Premier League (IPL) season, along with their respective teams and purchase prices.
List of most expensive player in IPL Auction each year
Starting with the 2025 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows.
Winning team: ₹20 crore (US$2.4 million)
Runner-up team: ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million)
Third-place team: ₹7 crore (US$830,000)
Fourth-place team: ₹6.5 crore (US$770,000)
Fair Play Award
The Fair Play Award is given to the team considered to have the best fair play record in the season. After each match, the two on-field umpires and the third umpire score the performance of both teams, with the highest-scoring team at the end of the season receiving the award.[116] The 2025 winners were Chennai Super Kings, who won it for the seventh time.
Orange Cap
The Orange Cap is awarded to the highest run-scorer at the end of each season. It is an ongoing competition with the current highest run-scorer wearing the cap whilst fielding. The eventual winner keeps the cap for the season. Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear the Orange Cap and Shaun Marsh the inaugural winner of the award. Australian batsman David Warner has won the award three times, while Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli have each won it twice.[117]Sai Sudharsan of Gujarat Titans, who scored 759 runs during the 2025 season, is the most recent winner of the award.[118][119]
Purple Cap
The Purple Cap is awarded to the highest wicket-taker at the end of each season. It is an ongoing competition and the bowler who is the leading wicket-taker wears a purple cap whilst fielding. The eventual winner keeps the cap for the season. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dwayne Bravo are the only players to have won the award twice.[120][121]Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans, who took 25 wickets during the 2025 season, is the most recent winner of the award.
Most Valuable Player
The Most Valuable Player award, formerly called the "Man of the Tournament" until the 2012 season, is awarded using a ratings system introduced in 2013. Suryakumar Yadav won the award in 2025.
Emerging Player Award
The Emerging Player Award was presented to the best under-19 player in 2008 and the best under-23 player in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 and 2012, the award was known as "Rising Star of the Year," and in 2013 the "Best Young Player of the Season." Since 2014, the award has been called the Emerging Player of the Year. Mustafizur Rahman is the only foreign player to win this award.[122] The 2025 winner was Sai Sudharsan.
From 2008 to 2012, the IPL title sponsor was DLF, a real estate developer, which bid ₹200 crore (US$24million).[125] After 2012, PepsiCo bought the rights for ₹397 crore (US$47million) for five seasons,[126] but terminated the deal in 2015, two years before expiry, due to the two-season suspension of the Chennai and Rajasthan franchises.[127] The BCCI transferred the rights for those two seasons to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo for ₹200 crore (US$24million).[128]
In 2017, Vivo retained the rights for 2018–22 with a winning bid of ₹2,199 crore (US$260million).[129][130] In August 2020, Vivo canceled the rights due to a military stand-off between India and China.[131] The withdrawal was also a result of Vivo's market losses due to the COVID pandemic; Vivo intended to return as sponsor for the following three years.[132]Dream11 became sponsors for 2020 for ₹222 crore (equivalent to ₹261croreorUS$31million in 2023).[133] Vivo returned for 2021[134] but withdrew again, and was replaced by the Tata Group for the next two seasons.[135]InsideSport reported the BCCI would receive ₹498 crore (US$59million) for the 2022–23 seasons from title sponsors. Vivo had agreed to pay a higher amount for the last two seasons of its contract due to the league's expansion from 2022. Due to the new deal's structure, Tata would pay ₹335 crore (US$40million) per year while Vivo would pay the deficit of ₹163 crore (US$19million).[136][137]Aramco bought the sponsorship rights for the Orange and Purple Caps in 2022.[138]
Payments to foreign national boards
The BCCI pays 10% of the auctioned value of players to their national cricket boards. In 2018, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said the IPL would double the amount paid to cricket boards that made their players available for an entire season.[139] In 2022, the Australian Cricketers' Association expressed its unhappiness about this.[91]
Brand value
The IPL tournament rapidly grew in value between 2016–18. Experts valued it at US$4.2billion in 2016, $5.3billion in 2017 and $6.1billion in 2018. A report from Duff & Phelps said a contributing factor was a television deal with Star India Private Limited, which engaged more viewers because the IPL was transmitted to regional channels in eight languages; under the previous deal, transmissions were limited to sports networks with English-language commentary.[140][141]
In 2022, the IPL became a decacorn valued at US$11 billion, registering a 75% growth since 2020 when it was valued at $6.2 billion.[142]
In 2022, the BCCI took insurance of ₹5,000 crore (US$590million) for the IPL. This policy involves all stakeholders, including broadcasters, ancillary services providers, and sponsors. The BCCI is covered in case of revenue losses due to weather, riots, and unforeseen events.[148]
The IPL has been India's most-watched sports property; JioCinema estimated that an average of 620 million viewers watched part of the 2024 Indian Premier League overall, with at least 350 billion minutes streamed across the tournament.[149] The 2025 final was seen on Star Sports by 169 million viewers, making it the most-watched cricket broadcast to-date on linear television.[150]
Currently, domestic media rights are held by JioStar, under contracts originally awarded in 2022 to its corporate predecessors Disney Star and Viacom18; coverage is carried via its streaming service JioHotstar, and the Star Sports pay television networks.[151][152] The main packages for domestic television and digital rights were collectively valued at around US$6.2 billion (more than double the value of the previous contract), causing the IPL to overtake the Premier League in English football as the second highest-valued sports media property worldwide, behind only the National Football League (US$111 billion).[153][154][155][156]
The media rights were then held by Star India from 2018 to 2022, under a contract valued at US$2.55billion—which, at the time, was the highest-valued broadcast rights contract in the history of cricket. Star Sports would hold the pay television rights, while Disney+ Hotstar held the digital rights.[162][163][164][165] In 2022, Disney Star lost the digital rights to a consortium of Reliance Industries and Viacom18 (which would stream the IPL for free via their streaming service JioCinema),[166] while maintaining the pay television rights for Star Sports. The loss of IPL rights notably contributed to Disney losing 2.4 million Disney+ subscribers worldwide in fiscal Q4 2022.[167][168]
In the 2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting case, Delhi police arrested Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and S. Sreesanth on charges of spot-fixing; they received lifetime bans from the BCCI. The police also arrested Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principal of Chennai Super Kings and son-in-law of then BCCI president N. Srinivasan, for illegally betting on IPL matches and passing team information to bookmakers.[174][175] In 2015, the Lodha Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court of India, banned Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings for two years. Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra were found guilty of betting and banned from any involvement with the game. Justice RM Lodha said, "Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an extent that there are doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not."[176]
Strategic timeouts
In the 2009 season, the IPL introduced the "strategic timeout", a seven-and-a-half minute break at the end of the tenth over in each innings.[177] Teams and players, including Sachin Tendulkar, disapproved of it for interrupting the flow of play,[178] while critics labelled it a "commercial use of an extended drinks break" as every 10-second advertisement slot was sold for over ₹5 lakh.[179][180] The then-president of the IPL insisted that the break was intended to allow teams to strategise during the game. Following widespread criticism, in the 2010 season, the duration of the timeout was reduced to five minutes, split in two halves during each innings.[180][181]
IPL stakeholders have described strategic timeouts as unavoidable, as they provide the BCCI with sponsorship revenue and allow broadcasters additional time for advertisements.[179] In 2022, commentator Sunil Gavaskar said that strategic timeouts, among other factors, caused IPL matches to stretch to nearly 4 hours, instead of the stipulated time of 3 hours and 10 minutes.[182]
Incidents with players
During the 2008 season, Mumbai Indians player Harbhajan Singh slapped S. Sreesanth at the end of a match, resulting in Harbhajan being fined and banned from the remaining games of the season.[183] Years later, Harbhajan apologized to Sreesanth on television.[184][185]
In 2010, the BCCI banned Ravindra Jadeja from the IPL for one year after he violated league guidelines by negotiating a more lucrative contract with other teams instead of renewing his contract with the Rajasthan Royals.[186]
Team ownership controversies
In April 2010, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed that Sunanda Pushkar, who was described at the time as a "close friend" of the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, held sweat equity shares in Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), the proprietor of the newly auctioned franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Since Tharoor had mentored RSW's successful bid for the Kochi franchise, members of his Indian National Congress party demanded his resignation. Pushkar gave up her 4.7% sweat equity estimated to be worth ₹70 crore, while Tharoor resigned over charges of conflict of interest and allegations that Pushkar was acting as a proxy for him.[187][188] Tharoor married Pushkar in August later that year.[189]
In April 2010, the BCCI president Shashank Manohar claimed in a press conference that the IPL Governing Council did not know the true owners of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). He stated that during the franchise bidding process, only Preity Zinta had initially come forward to bid for KXIP, but the franchise agreement was later signed by a different company in which she held no ownership stake. He cited similar irregularities in the bidding process for RR, adding that the BCCI's permission had not been sought before the owners of RR sold a part stake to Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, and that the mandatory 5% share transfer fee had not been paid.[190][191] Both franchises were briefly terminated in October 2010 over alleged violations of the franchise agreement,[192][193][194] before the terminations were overturned by the Bombay High Court in December 2010.[195][196]
In April 2010, former BCCI president A. C. Muthiah filed a Supreme Court petition against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner N. Srinivasan, claiming that the then-BCCI president Srinivasan altered BCCI's rules to allow himself to purchase an IPL team and that owning an IPL team was a case of conflict of interest.[197] A few months later, Indian media, citing an alleged leaked e-mail, accused former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi of helping Srinivasan's team buy Andrew Flintoff in the 2009 player auction.[198] During a hearing of the 2013 betting case in which Srinivasan's son-in-law and CSK's team principal Gurunath Meiyappan was suspended by the Lodha Committee,[199] the Supreme Court criticized Srinivasan for owning an IPL team while serving as the BCCI president.[200] As of 2024, Srinivasan's family was reported to exercise control over Chennai Super Kings Cricket through a significant ownership stake;[201] his daughter Rupa Gurunath often appears in stadiums during CSK's games.
Slow over rates
Field umpires sometimes penalize teams by restricting them to having only four fielders outside the 30-yard area, or match referees penalize captains and team members by reducing their match fees, but these measures have not solved the problem. Games often run at a slow speed and finish late. During the 2024 season, Rishabh Pant, captain of Delhi Capitals, and Shubman Gill of Gujarat Titans were fined ₹12 lakhs each for their teams' slow over rates during matches against Chennai Super Kings.[202] Millions of viewers feel that IPL matches should be fast-paced.[203]
Security issues
Ahead of the 2009 season, the Indian government declined to provide security for the IPL, citing that central security forces would be engaged in the general elections.[204] As a result, the BCCI shifted the season to South Africa.[205] A similar decision by the Indian government in 2014, when the IPL again coincided with the general elections,[206] led to the opening 20 matches being held in the United Arab Emirates, with the tournament returning to India on 2 May 2014.[207]
Following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, geopolitical tensions surged between India and Pakistan. The aftermath of the attack led to the exclusion of Pakistani players from playing in the IPL, as none of them were picked by any team during the 2009 IPL auction.[211] While they had been selected by several teams for the inaugural IPL season (2008), their contracts were terminated before the 2009 edition, and have been excluded for subsequent editions.[212] Among the critics of the BCCI and IPL owners has been retired cricketer and former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who stated that they "take it out on Pakistan players". He accused the BCCI of "arrogance" but also stated that "Pakistan should not worry about it".[213] Certain Pakistani players, including Hasan Ali and Sohail Tanvir expressed disappointment about not getting an opportunity to be a part of the IPL.[214][215] In addition to the exclusion of Pakistani players from the IPL, India refused to play with Pakistan in any bilateral series and pulled out from the 2009 series.[216]
For the 2010 IPL season auction, as no franchise bid for any Pakistani player, it led to major protests in Pakistan.[217] As a result of not being selected, several players such as Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq expressed disappointment, while former leg spinner Abdul Qadir stated that Pakistan should form its own league.[218] Subsequently, it led to the formation of Pakistan Super League, which had it's first season in 2016.[219]
During the 2025 IPL auction on 24 and 25 November 2024 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 13 Bangladeshi players were registered, out of which 12 were auctioned.[220] However, none of the players were sold, prompting a backlash from Bangladeshi fans and cricketers.[221] After the auction concluded, the exclusion of Bangladeshi players was largely supported by Indians following the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in the aftermath of resignation of Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024.[222]
The IPL has occasionally clashed with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the Kashmir Premier League, due to scheduling overlaps and geopolitical sensitivities. Several players have reportedly been warned by the BCCI against participating in the KPL, given the political sensitivity surrounding the Kashmir region.[228] Former South African player Herschelle Gibbs publicly accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India of pressuring him not to play in the inaugural KPL and threatening to deny him entry into India for any cricket‑related work if he participated.[229]
Additionally, some players eligible for the PSL have reportedly chosen to play in the IPL instead, citing higher financial incentives and greater international exposure.[230] This trend has limited the PSL’s ability to attract and retain top foreign talent.[231]
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