Masti and Magic: How the IPL became the world’s biggest T20 tournament

IPL Trophy

The inaugural game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 (Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Kolkata Knight Riders) was hailed as the third epochal event in the evolution of cricket after Kerry Packer's rebel World series in 1977 (the floodlight and coloured clothing started from there), and the 1983 World Cup win by India, which opened the floodgates for a highly commercialised era.

"If it works, Indian league will transform cricket," read the New York Times headline in mid-April 2008. The IPL was one of the rare products from India which drew the attention of the world.

Today, English cricket is taking a lot of pride in Bazball (the new all-out-attacking style of play that England has displayed in Test cricket of late), which is likely to revolutionise Test cricket forever.

England’s Kiwi Head Coach Brendon McCullum — nicknamed Baz — is the chief architect of this revolution. This is the same McCullum who ignited the first night of the IPL like few have in the last 15 years. His whirlwind 158 in Bengaluru announced the arrival of the IPL in the most spectacular fashion.

The blitzkrieg by the Kiwi was in hindsight a revolution foretold. “Not that there was ever much doubt about the league's status. Ever since the owners of the eight franchises threw vast sums at the world's prime talent at the India Premier League player auctions in February, it has been a given that the cricket world would never be the same again. The only debate has been as to whether the change will be beyond recognition or not,” observed the NYT in its 2008 dispatch.

Doubtless, the cricketing world has never been the same and franchise-based leagues have mushroomed across the world. It may not be an exaggeration to say that all of them have tried to be a mini version of the IPL, if not rival it.

This writer distinctly remembers the pre-match press conference by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, both looking awkwardly shy. Nationalism has been at the core of cricket since its inception, and the T20’s grandest tournament, the IPL, was seeking to challenge that by bringing foes like Ganguly and Ricky Ponting together in the same team, and turning Ganguly and Dravid (long-time friends and teammates) into adversaries, as leaders of warring teams.

There were a handful of overseas journalists, especially from England, who were flummoxed by the glitz and glamour of IPL even before a single ball had been bowled. Stephan Brankley, a veteran cricket journalist from The Independent, UK, told this writer cheekily that the new format was for youngsters like us and there was no place for subtlety or the long-form writing of Test cricket.
"Andrew Flintoff's retirement from Test cricket yesterday brought closer the age of the mercenary player. England's great warrior will withdraw from the purest form of the game out of bodily necessity, but he intends to pursue a lucrative living in one-day cricket. He will be far from alone. The Indian Premier League has demonstrated that for the game's legends, after achieving fame in the Test arena, there is abundant life in the IPL – and soon it may not be alone," wrote Brankley in 2009 after IPL season 2 was a breathtaking success as well.

Brankley, the purist, suspected that top players preferring to have a fling with T20 meant the death of Test cricket. While his fears were unfounded, T20s have become an accepted part of world cricket, where the debate of nation vs. club hardly matters.

One of the most remarkable turnarounds has come from the often-sceptical English cricket establishment. Dimitri Mascarenhas was the only English player involved in the first edition, but today, the World Cup champions are there in all the 10 teams of the IPL. So much so that England has credited the IPL for playing its part in making the team the ODI as well as the T20 World Cup Champion at the same time.

How times change. In 2008, Adam Gilchrist said he was auctioned off to the highest bidder like a cow at a market. Today, players around the world look forward to the auction as it’s one of the biggest days in the cricketing calendar.

Today, the 1,000th IPL match will be played in Mumbai. There may have been hundreds of wonderful moments in the journey leading up to this milestone. Here are the top 10 selected by this writer, which are likely to stand the test of time.

1. McCullum’s first hundred in the very first game of the IPL.
2. The astonishing success of the IPL in South Africa in 2009.
3. MS Dhoni becoming the first captain to win back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.
4. Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma winning a record five trophies.
5. Virat Kohli’s incredible run with the bat in 2016, when he scored nearly 1, 000 (973 to be precise) runs.
6. Most hundreds (6), the fastest hundred (30 balls), most sixes (357), and highest individual score (175 not out) makes Chris Gayle Da Boss of the League.
7. The ABD-ABD chants for South African superstar AB de Villiers in Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy stadium.
8. The enduring mystery of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who not only takes wickets at will but is also the most economical bowler of the IPL.
9. Gujarat Titan’s title win in its very first attempt when no one gave them a chance.
10. Last but not the least, how Lalit Modi’s seemingly outrageous idea became the hottest property in world cricket after the very first edition.