The 12th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just around the corner and fans are eagerly waiting for March 23rd, the day they see the first match of IPL 2019, which will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Did you know, in 2008 a league called ICL was emerging with funding provided by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. So to compete with Zee, BCCI started their own league and named it IPL. And that’s not the only fact about this league, there are many things which have happened since its existence. Here are some you should know.
Until now there have be 11 IPL tournaments, out of which both Chennai and Mumbai have won three times. However, there are some teams who have not got the opportunity to touch the IPL trophy. The first season was won by Rajasthan Royals and the last was won by Chennai Super Kings.
Orange Cap
The Orange Cap is an award presented to the leading run scorer in the IPL. The batsman with most runs in the tournament during the course of the season would wear the Orange Cap while fielding, with the overall leading run-scorer at the conclusion of the tournament winning the actual Orange Cap award on the day of the season’s final.
Brendon McCullum became the first player to wear the Orange Cap and Shaun Marsh became the first winner of the award. However, in IPL 2016, Virat Kohli scored (973 runs) the most runs in one season than anyone has ever scored in a season.
Purple Cap
The rules of Purple cap is similar to Orange Cap, However, the Purple cap is an award presented to the leading wicket-taker in IPL. The first Purple cap was won by Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals back in 2008. Dwayne Bravo has the record of taking most wickets in one season, In IPL 2015 Bravo took 32 wickets, breaking the record of Lasith Malinga (28 wickets).
Maximum Sixes Award – Gayle storm
The Maximum Sixes Award is an annual cricket award presented to the batsman who hits the most sixes in IPL. In 2012, Chris Gayle broke his own record of 44 sixes in a tournament by hitting 59 sixes. In 2013, Chris Gayle once again won the award by hitting 51 sixes. Gayle now has the record of top 3 sixes in the tournament history.
Slap-gate: In the first season of IPL, Harbhajan Singh allegedly slapped Sreesanth at the end of a Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab match. This was the first controversy in IPL. Harbhajan was banned for the remaining season while his entire match fees went as fine. Five years later, Sreesanth claimed the controversy was planned.
Spot-fixing: The spot-fixing controversy is the biggest spot on IPL. It all started with arrest of the bookies in Delhi and Ahmedabad but exploded in dramatic fashion when they caught Vindoo Dara Singh. The story gained depth very quickly with police establishing the involvement of Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, who were the key owners of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
Later on, the Delhi police arrested three cricketers — Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan — all of whom were part of the Rajasthan Royals and were found to have established connections with the bookies. Since then the BCCI has taken some strong steps to keep corruption away from cricket.
Lalit Modi saga
The IPL was Lalit Modi’s brain-child and it could be argued that the worldwide success of the IPL is because of him. However, Modi was shown the door from the helm of the league in an unceremonious manner in 2010. Lalit Modi was accused of financial impropriety, rigging bidding deals, offering bribes, betting and money laundering. However, Modi still maintains that he was not part of any wrongdoings and currently lives in the United Kingdom because he claims he fears for his life in India.
Deccan Chargers: The owners of DC put the franchise for sale in 2012. On 14 September 2012 however, the IPL governing council terminated the Chargers for breaching contract terms. The Sun TV Network won the bid for the Hyderabad franchise, the BCCI confirmed on 25 October 2012. The new team was named the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant: BCCI suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in 2015, for the betting activities involving their owners, Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, respectively. Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant were created to replace CSK and RR.
Pune Warriors India: On 21 May 2013, Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL over financial differences with the BCCI stemming from the valuation of the annual franchise fee it had to pay. The franchise was officially terminated by the BCCI five months later, on 26 October 2013.
MS Dhoni: Under the influence of MS Dhoni, the Super Kings became the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL. The former Indian skipper led the franchise to three IPL titles. Dhoni has also captained CSK in 143 matches which is the highest for any skipper in the IPL.
Rohit Sharma: Just like MS Dhoni, Rohit has also led the team to three IPL titles. The flamboyant batsman also helped in nurturing the likes of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who are integral members of the current Indian squad.
Gautam Gambhir: Gautam Gambhir led his franchise from the front. He has inspired the Kolkata Knight Riders to win 2 IPL titles. His win percentage is on the higher side with 70 wins in 123 matches.
Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (KKR): Shah Rukh showed his love for the sport by owning a team in IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders, in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. Both are very actively involved with the team so far, attending most team matches.
Preity Zinta (KXIP): Despite never winning the championship, Preity Zinta stuck to her team through thick and thin. Preity is the owner of Kings XI Punjab. The entire team had a tough time dealing with losses in almost every season, but it is Preity’s ‘jadoo ki jhappi’ that works its magic for the team every time.
Shilpa Shetty (RR)
Shilpa Shetty owned the Rajasthan Royals franchise and, being a cricket fan, she watched most of the matches. Even when her team was embroiled in controversies, Shilpa stayed calm and walked the way through with her team.
