From what appeared like an experiment, IPL has gone on to develop into the most important match in T20 cricket, and searching again, the journey has been particular.
18 years ago, when Kolkata Knight Riders took on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first ever match of the Indian Premier League, nobody knew what to expect. By the end of the game, one got the idea – the IPL was here to stay. That it would become THIS big. Brendon McCullum batted that evening like no one before him had on a cricket field. An unbeaten 158 off 73 balls against a quality bowling line-up? 222 off 20 overs? What was that?
It All Started with MS Dhoni Brining T20 WC Home
India wasn’t completely new to the concept of T20 cricket. Only a few months before, MS Dhoni had led a young side to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup but the IPL would change everything. Cricket commerce would never be the same again. Player rivalries would be redefined too.
What Did IPL Do? Brought Indians & Aussies Close
A few years before the IPL, India and Australia cricketers could barely stand to be in the same room or so it would seem. The IPL put a lot of them in the same dressing-room and though it took a few years to get along, they do get along famously now. The RCB vs KKR game on April 18, 2008 changed the landscape for India’s young domestic cricketers like you would not have imagined.
In a cricket obsessed country, how many youngsters could have gone on to have successful careers with the Indian team? The IPL not only offered them handsome salaries but gave them a platform which was sometimes more competitive than bilateral international games. 18 years ago, Virat Kohli had not yet played for India and managed only 1 in a chase of 223 as RCB folded for 82.
Oh Wait, Gave Us Virat Kohli Too
Today, Kohli is the most successful IPL batter and almost owns every record you could think of as an international batter. No, this is not to suggest only the IPL contributed to Kohli’s great rise – the Indian domestic structure is high quality and the BCCI has spent a lot of money to ensure their players go on A tours. But a lot of his development as a T20 cricketer was thanks to the IPL.
It took India nearly 2 decades to win their next T20 World Cup but that wasn’t because of a lack of talent. Different coaches and captains had different ideas on how to approach the shortest format internationally and while India dominated in bilateral series, took great strides in one-day internationals and became a great Test side, the T20 World Cup seemed to be a far reach.
And the Result – India Best T20I Team
Finally, they discarded the old methods and adapted to what the IPL taught them and pulled ahead – the result, a T20 World Cup in 2024, 17 years after MS Dhoni’s men did it in South Africa. India now have the scariest T20I side perhaps ever assembled.
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel have had an incredible say in the IPL – Shreyas Iyer, who has been in stunning ODI form for a year and a half is making a strong case to break into this T20I side and the bowlers have spoilt us for choice. Left-arm leg-spin? Got it. Right arm express pace? Sure. Left-arm pace? Of course. Spin and medium pace bowling all-rounders? Why not!
The entertainment factor was massive in the IPL. Cricket’ainment’ was real. But when you looked away from the glamorous team owners, the quality of the cricket was was unbelievable. Where else could you have seen Jayasuriya and Tendulkar together or Ponting and Ganguly in the same team?
Who Would Have Thought in 2008?
The player auction is a exercise in some of the smartest strategic decisions in a board-room. You miss the mark there and the IPL season could go really wrong. Every auction throws up some wild surprises but then when you see those games, you realise why teams splurge on the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc or Shreyas Iyer.
The IPL is the greatest T20 league in the world. India’s success as a T20I side will now give more impetus to the T20 World Cup and teams will now be more eager to send their best players to the IPL and take on the Indian might internationally. If you were given this summary of the IPL 18 years ago, you would scarcely believe it.
