THE IPL AND IT'S IMPACT ON INDIAN CRICKET

Today is the 12th anniversary of the most prominent and wealthiest cricket league in the world. The first match of the IPL was played on 18th April 2008 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. After this match, cricket has completely changed, not only in India but also in the world.

Image Credits: Info n Facts

Today, India is the powerhouse of cricket and that is because of – 

1. Victory in 1983 World Cup 

2. Economic Liberalization in 1991 

3. Indian Premier League. 

These three aspects completely changed Indian cricket forever. There was a time when most of the cricketers assessed their potential in the game by playing County Cricket in England. Currently, every cricketer in the world wants to play in the Indian Premier League because of money, attraction and the quality level of cricket. In just a few years since its inception, besides giving the world an electrifying annual cricketing fiesta to look forward to, IPL has played a major role in elevating the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to a very strong player in the world in terms of money.

All in all, in these twelve years, IPL has made several impacts on this game.

#1.Domestic players getting a platform to get noticed by the selectors for the Indian Cricket Team: The Indian Premier League has been a boon for domestic players. Before IPL, it was very difficult for the young cricketers to get a chance to get noticed by scouts of the Indian Cricket Team. A player had to perform extraordinary for at least two years in domestic tournaments like  – Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy to get noticed, not counting that there would be numerous further hurdles on their path to making it to the Indian Squad. Post the inclusion of IPL in Indian cricket, the path to go into the national team is relatively simpler. IPL has provided opportunities to many talented youngsters to show their talent in front of the world. The domestic players are also get “pseudo” International Experience through the opportunity to play with star players from all over the world.

Before IPL, there were very few players like – MS Dhoni, who came from a small town but now most of the players in the Indian team are from small towns. In the last 12 years, IPL has given many talented cricketers to the national team including but not limited to Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah,  and Rishabh Pant. These players have been picked to play in the national team without having a lot of experience in domestic cricket. Today all these talented youngsters are star players in International cricket.

#2.BCCI has become wealthier: BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world from the last 15+ years. IPL has made the Indian cricket board very strong in terms of money. Before IPL, most International players (particularly Australians) did not like to travel to India. Now, every foreign cricketer likes to travel to India because of the money that they get from the IPL. The foreign media and players now give more attention to Indian cricket. The IPL made Indian cricket very strong in many ways. A few days ago, former Australian Cricket captain Michael Clarke had said that the current Aussie players did not sledge Virat Kohli because they have a fear of losing their IPL contracts.  The attitude of ICC (International Cricket Council), all other cricket boards and International players towards Indian cricket has completely been changed by the IPL.

#3.More countries are connecting with cricket: The IPL has made a large impact on world cricket also. IPL is the only cricket league in the world which has been competing with the wealthiest football leagues in terms of popularity. IPL has brought cricket to some newer cricketing nations such as – Afghanistan, Oman, and Namibia. Before 2012, Afghanistan was hard to point to on the cricket map, but now the country plays all formats of the game. This was only made possible by the IPL when players like – Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Zadran, and Zahir Khan Pakteen showed their talent and many youngsters in Afghanistan got inspired by them.

#4.Huge impact on Indian Market: According to the former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, IPL means 'Indian Paisa League'. The league has made a big impact not only on cricket but also on the Indian market. BCCI and all the team owners have become very strong in terms of money. IPL has made a huge impact not only on team owners or players but also on the businesses of small and medium stature, and media houses.

Image Credits: Quora

All in all, we can clearly see that the IPL has given a lot to the cricketing world. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last 12 seasons, and can’t wait for the next one!