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IMPORTANT UPDATE
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that due to the ongoing situation with Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19), the IPL has been rescheduled for 15 April 2020. Please note that all dates within this article will be updated by FDN Life as soon as we know more information as to the new match schedule.
IPL 2020 CRICKET SCHEDULE, THE LEGENDS AND THE IPL RECORDS
The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) is here! The cricketing world’s most successful cricket tournament of all time. Valued at some US$6.7 Billion, the IPL is probably more successful than cricket’s World Cup, especially on the Asian continent. Vivo IPL 13 is on our doorstep and due to kick off on 15 April 2020.
SOME HISTORY & FUN FACTS OF THE INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
The IPL concept was the brainchild of Lalit Modi, founder and director of Modi Enterprises. He studied electrical engineering in the USA and picked up a suspended prison sentence for alleged drug-related infringements, as well. The IPL was officially launched in 2008, and 2020 will be the 13th edition of this tournament. The 2009 IPL was played in South Africa due to elections in India.
The tournament was not without controversy in its short history. Modi, IPL Chairman for the first three years, was found guilty in a match-fixing scandal in 2013. He was banned for life from cricket. Following another match-fixing scandal in 2015, the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals we suspended for two seasons!
The IPL grew season by season, and today it is the most popular event on the annual cricket calendar. It is also true that some players will forfeit a place in a national team and instead play in the IPL.
RULES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (IPL)
- Eight teams compete on a home and away basis, resulting in two semi-finals and a final.
- Squad strengths vary between 18 and 25 players, including a maximum of eight overseas (four playing) members per team.
- Players are acquired by auction and trading. Contracts are valid for two years, with payment in Indian Rupees or US Dollars.
- The winning team’s prize money ran into US$2.9 Million in 2019.
- The Mumbai Indians team, with four tournament wins, and the Chennai Super Kings with three wins, are the most successful IPL teams by far.
THE IPL TEAMS, IPL SPONSORS & IPL BROADCASTERS
A total of 13 IPL teams started in the IPL tournament when the concept was first initiated. Five teams became defunct for various reasons. Current sponsors, (until 2022), are the Chinese Smartphone manufacturer ‘Vivo.’ They replaced PepsiCo.
Star India is currently holding most of the broadcasting rights and has partners in some 20 overseas territories, including the USA. They have a digital partner in Holstar as well.
IPL teams are valued between $43 million USD (Rajasthan Royals) and $113 million USD (Mumbai Indians). The IPL teams will disband on completion of the 2020 tournament to form new teams from 2021 onwards.
The IPL Teams, IPL Captains & IPL Coaches For 2020:
- The Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians will be captained by Rohit Sharma, and coached by former master batsman, Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka. - The Rajasthan Royals
They will have a new captain during the 2020 IPL tournament, the Australian Steve Smith, fresh from serving a ban for his part in a ball-tampering scandal. Andrew McDonald is replacing Paddy Upton as coach. - The Sunrises’ Hyderabad
Will be captained by the swashbuckling batsman Kane Williamson from New Zealand, and coached by Trevor Bayliss. - The Delhi Capitals (Formerly the Delhi Daredevils)
Will start the season with Shreyas Lyer as their new captain and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting as the coach. - The Chennai Super Kings
The “Kings” have the evergreen MS Dhoni as their captain and Stephen Flemming from New Zealand as coach. - The Kings XI Punjab
Priety Zinta’s team will be captained by Ravi (Ash) Ashwin and coached by Anil Kumble, appointed from October 2019. - The Kolkata Knight Riders
Established in 2008, still has Dinesh Karthik as captain and will have Brendon McCullum from New Zealand as the new head coach. - The Royal Challengers Bangalore
Will be captained by the legendary Virat Kohli, and have Australian Simon Katich as a coach. He replaced Gary Kirsten from South Africa.
IPL RECORDS – IPL TEAMS
Highest IPL Team Totals:
- 1st – The highest team total (263/5) was achieved by the IPL team, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCH), in 2013. This total was boosted by the incredible innings of 175 not out by the West Indian opener Chris Gayle. Oddly enough, RCH has never won a tournament!
- 2nd – The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) also holds the second place for the highest score by an IPL team in an IPL match, with a score of 248/3. This match was against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions. The stars of this match were Virat Kohli (109) and South African legend AB de Villiers who contributed 129 not out!
Lowest IPL Team Total
- 1st – Ironically, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) also posted the lowest total in IPL history. They were 49 all out against KKR in 2017, within an embarrassing 9.4 over’s, and subsequently lost by 82 runs.
- 2nd – The Rajasthan Royals recorded the second-lowest innings against the same RCB in 2009. Indian spinning legend Anil Kumble took an astonishing 5/5 in this innings!
The Biggest Winning Margin in IPL History To Date
- The most significant winning margin in IPL history was that of 146 runs scored by the Mumbai Indians (212) against the Delhi Daredevils, who only mustered a paltry 66 runs.
- No less than eleven 10 wicket victories were recorded. The latest being RCB against versus the King XI Punjab in 2018. There was ten one-run victory margin recorded, two of them in the 2019 season. Even more remarkable is that nine matches played, were tied!
IPL BATTING RECORDS – WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE
IPL Batting Record Holder:
- Chris Gayle (West Indies)
Gayle became a living legend in his IPL career. He is holding the IPL batting record with a mammoth score of 175 not-out when playing for RCB against the Warriors in 2013. His 30 boundaries included 17 sixes.- Thus far, Gayle scored six centuries in his IPL career.
- Remarkably, up to the end of September 2019, he scored a record 22 T20 career hundreds and hit no less than 960 sixes.
- Gayle also scored two test triple hundreds and have an ODI 200 behind his name.
2nd Place – IPL Batting Record
- Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
In the inaugural IPL season of 2008, he astonished the cricketing world with a score of 158 not out for KKR against RCB. Oddly enough, that remained his only IPL century, although he has exceeded the hundred mark a record seven times during his T20 career.
3rd & 4th Place – IPL Batting Record
- AB de Villiers (South Africa)
RCB, who never won a trophy, had a long list of remarkable batsmen playing for them. One of them was AB de Villiers, who holds the third and fourth positions on the batting record list.- He scored 133 not out against the Mumbai Indians and also recorded 129 not out against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions.
- All in all, de Villiers scored only four T20 centuries in his career, (two being in the IPL.) However, a remarkable fact is that he hit over 1,000 boundaries in all of his T20 matches, which included no less than 380 sixes.
- He recorded over 1,000 boundaries in test matches and ODI’s as well!
IPL BOWLING RECORDS
- 1st – Alzarri Joseph (West Indies)
He is a young player (22) with an unremarkable career so far but proved a point by taking 6/12 in only 3.4 overs for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers in 2019. - 2nd – Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan)
Sohail is in second place with a remarkable 6/14 in his allotted four overs for the Royals against the Super Kings as far back as the 2008 inaugural season. This performance is even better than his T20I international record. - 3rd – Adam Zampa (Australia)
Zampa claims the third spot by taking 6/19 in his four overs for the Supergiants against Sunrisers in 2016. He is still a young player (27) but did not enjoy a dramatic career so far. Like so many other players, the IPL seems to bring the best out in him.
WHERE ARE THE INDIANS IN THE IPL?
With most of the records being held by overseas players, one cannot help but wonder about Indian player’s performance during the IPL?
It is true that the IPL established India as the world’s leading cricketing nation and propelled India to the top of the rankings in all forms of cricket. All in all, however, though it might not seem that way from the bowling and batting records we mentioned before, Indian players are true team players, and has had a remarkable impact on the IPL:
- Virat Kohli – Is the top IPL run-scorer, with an astounding record of 5,412 runs during his IPL career. His runs include five centuries.
- Suresh Raina – Following close in Kohli’s footsteps is Suresh Raina, with 5,316 runs in the IPL. He topped the 100 mark only once but scored no less than 38 fifties. His 687 boundaries include 194 sixes. Suresh Raina is also the record holder in the IPL fielding department, being the only player to have 100 catches behind his name.
- Rohit Sharma – With 4,898 runs to his credit is Mister Consistency himself. He is the joint holder of 194 sixes with Raina.
- Sachin Tendulkar – T20 cricket came later in the career of the ‘Little Master.’ He is the only man in history to record 100 international hundreds, but he has only scored one IPL hundred in his 2,334 runs, which included no less than 324 boundaries
- Harbhajan Singh – The spinning master is third on the wicket-takers list with 150 wickets, which includes a career-best of 5/18 in four overs. He will try and improve this record in 2020.
- Piyush Chawla is joining Singh on the IPL bowlers list with 150 wickets as well!
- Ravi Ashwin is a fine all-rounder who added 125 wickets to his IPL batting record, mentioned above.
- MS Dhoni is the record holder in the wicket-keeping department. His record 132 dismissals include 94 catches and no less than 38 stumpings. His powerhouse batting proved to be a winner for his team at both IPL and international level.
- Dinesh Karthik follows on his heels with 131 dismissals. He is no slouch with the bat either. His 4,056 runs include 27 fifties with a high of 97 not out.
THE IPLs INFLUENCE ON CRICKET IN THE WORLD
There is no question that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is having a massive influence on cricket at all levels in India and the rest of the world. Every year, more and more people are checking in to support various teams as they take on the IPL challenge.
An all woman’s T20 tournament based on the IPL kicked off in 2018, another first in Indian Cricket! New records will be set, and new heroes will be born; the worldwide influence of the IPL cannot be calculated.
The IPL is probably as important to players as playing in the World Cup. Given a choice, a lot of cricketers are said to prefer an IPL contract rather than playing for their countries! Where are cricket records going to end? That is impossible to say
THE IPL 2020 SCHEDULE
Source: T20IPL.co.in
Note: All matches start at 20:00 IST, matches indicated with (#) start at 16:00 IST.
THE 2020 VIVO IPL TEAMS – A Review Of The IPL Teams For The 2020 Season
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
KKR did it for their fans in 2012 and 2014. Average performances dropped them to fifth place in 2019. They will need to improve both in batting and bowling to make an impact this season.
• Players to watch: Dinesh Karthik and Lockie Ferguson.
• Major releases: Anrich Nortje (South Africa) and Joe Denley (England).
DELHI CAPITALS
The Daredevils underwent a name change and will be known as the Capitals from 2020. They can only hope for a better log position this season.
• Players to watch: Ishant Sharma, captain Ravi Ashwin, and Amit Mishra
• Major releases: Chris Morris and Colin Munro.
KINGS IX PUNJAB
Underperforming Kings IX resides mostly toward the bottom of the log. They seriously need to improve on all levels and will rely heavily on Chris Gayle during the 2020 IPL season to get them within striking range of lifting the cup this year.
• Players to watch: Mohammed Shami, Mandeep Singh, and Chris Gayle.
• Major releases: Moises Henriques and Sam Curran.
SUNRISES HYDERABAD
The Sunrises' only joined in 2013 but played better than expected. They were winners in 2016 and runners up in 2018. They are looking forward to an exciting 2020.
• Players to watch: David Warner fresh from his mammoth 335 not out against Pakistan, Kane Williamson (always a classy performer), and upcoming Sandeep Sharma.
• Major releases: Martin Guptill and Yusuf Pathan.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Although suspended for two seasons, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is probably the IPL’s team with the most consistent performance. The CSK were three times winners of the IPL and made it the semi-finals no less than another six times. A lot is expected from them during the 2020 IPL season.
• Players to watch: Stalwarts Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir are like good wine; the older they get, the better they play.
• Major releases: Mohit Sharma and Sam Billings
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
The Rajasthan Royals won the very first IPL but managed to get suspended for two seasons after that. Their seasonal performances were rather miserable. They would do well to reach a spot in the semi-finals during the 2020 IPL season.
• Players to watch: Ben Stokes (improving every season) and Jofra Archer, who hopes to perform as well in the shorter format as in test matches. Steve Smith appears to be reaching top form, as well as young Ankit Rajpoot.
• Major releases: Liam Livingstone and Stuart Binny.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Even with stars such as AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in their midst, the Challengers are just not making the grade. They seem to be losing it altogether at critical times. Maybe 202O is their golden season. It would be long overdue!
• Players to watch: AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli with their consistent batting, and hopefully all-round performances from Moeen Ali.
• Major releases: Colin de Grandhomme, Dale Steyn (injury prone as of lately) and Heinrich Klaasen.
MUMBAI INDIANS
From a slow start in 2008, the Mumbai Indians improved every season. Their first win was in 2013, and they followed that with wins every second season. Unfortunately, the seasons they failed, they failed rather miserably. The Mumbai Indians were the champs again in 2019, and if history can be believed, they may just end up in the middle of the log this year.
• Players to watch: Jasprit Bumrah will be a stalwart again. Much is expected from Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma to change history for the Mumbai Indians.
• Major releases: Alzarri Joseph and Australian, Jason Behrndorff.
2020 IPL SEASON PLAYERS AUCTION
- Pat Cummins – Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins was bought during the 202 IPL players auction for an all-time record amount of USD 2.18 million. KKR will expect match-winning performances from him. At T20 level, he bags more than one wicket per match on average.
- Sam Curran – England’s all-rounder ‘changed sides’ as CSK acquired him for a sound USD 773,800. Good all-round performances are expected from him, and CSK hopes that that would propel them to at least the semi-finals.
- Dale Steyn – South Africa’s leading fast bowler, was injury-prone for most of the 2019 season. He nearly did not make it and was only picked up in the last round by RCB. Press reports indicate that he will only be available for six matches, which probably counted against him.
- Nikhil Nayak – Playing for KKR during the 2020 IPL season, Nikhil Nayak, at the age of 25, is already a specialist wicketkeeper-batsman in T20 cricket circles. He reached 50 matches at T20 level and has only one first-class match to his name.
- Lalit Yadav – DC will rely heavily on this youngster. He is one of a few batsmen that managed six sixes in an over! At 22, he already performed this feat twice at T20 level.
- Mohit Sharma – As a seasoned international, DC have placed their hopes on Sharma’s bowling skills for the 2020 IPL season. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL.
- Marcus Stoinis – This bonafide Australian all-rounder will be playing for DC. DC hopes Stoinis can transfer his first-class batting performances to IPL level, together with taking some wickets.
- Chris Morris – Will be playing for RCB. This all-rounder is the highest paid of only three South Africans that made the grade at the auction.
- Ravi Kishore – CSK bought this young spinner with high hopes. He made the news some years back with an on-field match confrontation with Ravi Ashwin. He fine-tuned his bowling to become a steady wicket-taker.
- Kane Richardson – Will be playing for RCB this season. He is a fast bowler and one of a growing list of players that performs consistently better at IPL level than international level.
To the heroes and legends that will be born during the 2020 IPL Season – Viva Vivo IPL!
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FDN LIFE MAGAZINE - ISSUE 6 >
CONTENT
- Editor's Notes >
- HOW TO GET STARTED AS A FREELANCE WRITER > Insider Tips & Strategies for Freelance Writers
- DN Accommodation > Top 10 Insider Tips to Finding Affordable Digital Nomad Accommodation
- IPL CRICKET 2020 The Legends and The Records
- Top 4 Accounting Software > For Freelancers, Digital Nomads, Remotes, Gig-Workers / Entrepreneurs
- Online Business / Marketplace > The Importance Of Buyer-Seller Direct Communication For Your Online Business / Marketplace
- Mentor Notes > Part 5 - From The Worlds Most Inspirational - Jim Rohn
- FDN Events 2020 > 2020 Events & Conferences for Digital Nomads
- "Born to be Wild?" > The Most Dangerous Roads In The World
- Thank You > Have A Great Day!
FDN LIFE >
AUTHOR
Ben Masterson
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