What exactly is the IPL?
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament that began in 2007 and whose popularity has grown exponentially. It was founded by then BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi on the back of surge in popularity for the T20 format after India won the 2007 World T20.
When does it start?
The IPL usually takes place in the Spring (March, April and May) each year and lasts for just under two months. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 competition was moved to September until November and was held in the United ***** Emirates.
Which teams compete in the IPL?
The IPL is a franchise-based competition with eight teams, each representing an Indian city (or State).
When the tournament was first founded, an auction was held to determine the cities that the teams would be based in, as well as the owners of each team. In the end the eight founding members of the IPL were based in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali and Mumbai. Teams from Pune, Kochi and Rajkot have taken part in the past but this year it is the same eight franchises as originally began.
Lets look at the IPL 2021 teams:
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK)
Home ground: M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
Chennai Super Kings is one of the most successful franchises in IPL, having qualified for the playoffs in nine seasons and winning three times. They lifted the IPL 2018 title after coming back from a two-year ban over a spot-fixing scandal.
MUMBAI INDIANS (MI)
Home ground: Wankhede Stadium
Captain: Rohit Sharma
They are one of the two teams that have won the IPL title thrice (2013, 2015 and 2017).
DELHI CAPITALS (DC)
Home ground: Arun Jaitley Stadium
After doing well in the initial couple of years, the Delhi-based franchise have never appeared in an IPL play-off. The last time they qualified for the play-offs was in 2012.
KINGS XI PUNJAB (KXIP)
Home ground: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium
They reached the semifinals in the inaugural season of IPL, while finished runners-up in 2014. However, the team failed to make any mark in the rest of the IPL editions barring IPL 2019 where it almost made it to the playoffs.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)
Home ground: Eden Gardens
Although the team gained immense popularity due to its association with celebrity owners, it performed pathetically in the first three seasons, thereby tarnishing its image. The team's performance, however, improved from the fourth season as it qualified for the IPL playoffs. They lifted the IPL trophy in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS (RR)
Home ground: Sawai Mansingh Stadium
The Pink City franchise won the inaugural edition of IPL under the captaincy of Australian legend Shane Warne, who was also the team's mentor.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB)
Home ground: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
RCB has played three finals in the IPL but lost all of them (in 2009 to the Deccan Chargers, in 2011 to the Chennai Super Kings and in 2016 to Sunrisers Hyderabad)
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD (SH)
Home ground: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium
SRH went to the playoffs in their debut IPL season but failed to continue their performance in subsequent tournaments; they finished 6th in 2014 and 2015. In 2016 they finally won their first and only IPL title.
How does it work?
Each franchise acquires players via an annual player auction, as well as trading players in specific trading windows, and also signing players who are not signed in the auction. The 2021 IPL player auction is scheduled for February 11th. Most signings occur at the auction and at the end of each IPL season player’s contractd are either renewed or they are released.
The teams are made up of between 19-25 players and a maximum of eight can be from overseas (Not Indians). A playing XI must not have any more than four overseas (Not Indian) players.
The majority of the tournament follows a very standard structure: each of the eight teams play each other home and away, with two points earned for a win, one point for a tie or no result, and none for a defeat.
At the end of that the bottom four teams in the table are eliminated and the top four teams progress to the playoffs. From those four an eventual Champion is crowned.
How to choose the most suitable bookmaker for you to bet on IPL:
For this you should really check out our ratings. We can not know for each individual reader what is the most important thing for them. as it will be different for everyone. For this reason we have ranked the bookmakers by a variety of parameters for you to browse.
Range of betting options: The number of lines (markets) available to bet on can distinguish one IPL bookmaker from the next. If you are unfamiliar with all the options then articles from our Betting School will help you quickly understand the different types of bets and the nuances of each.
The Odds: For many people this is the most important thing. We have looked at real life examples to get a feel for the average value each bookmaker offers. They may all appear similar, but in the long run differences however slight can add up to making a big difference.
User Opinions: This is a popularity rating compiled from the feedback of Legalbet users, simply tallying the bookmakers where they claim to bet regularly.
Live Betting: In 2021 this is a service all bookmakers worth their salt provide, but there can be huge differences in quality, features and standards from one to the next.
