How To Bet On The Indian Premier League 2024 – A Comprehensive Guide

From eight teams and 59 games at the start, the league has grown to 10 teams and 74 games. The financial spin-off from the IPL has become so massive that it helps fund BCCI’s grassroots, provides a pension scheme for all former international and first-class cricketers, and ensures that all 38 state associations are financially sound.

Chennai Super Kings are the joint-most successful team in the competition’s history, having made the playoffs in every season of their existence, barring one in 2020. They have won five titles in all (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023). Mumbai Indians also have five titles (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020), all under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.

Rajasthan Royals are still waiting to add to their inaugural title (2008), while Kolkata Knight Riders won two titles (2012 and 2014) under Gautam Gambhir. Sunrisers Hyderabad (2016), Gujarat Titans (2022), and the erstwhile Deccan Chargers (2009) have won one title apiece.

The new season is due to start on March 22, with defending champions CSK taking on RCB. The MA Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk, will host the inaugural game. This venue will also host the grand finale on May 26. 

The schedule for the first two weeks of the season is out presently. The IPL awaits a directive from the Indian government over their schedule for the upcoming federal elections in the country before announcing the schedule for the remainder of the season.

In the inaugural schedule, apart from the eight traditional venues hosting games, there is an additional venue: The ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam, which will host the first two home games of the Delhi Capitals.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the IPL is its auction process, which helps teams sign players. At this auction, for example, every team had a budget of INR 100 crores to build their squad. The contract fee of players who had been retained was subtracted from this INR 100 crore purse for teams prior to the auction.

The Australian players were the most in-demand at the auction, understandably, considering they’re the current 50-over World champions. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who hasn’t featured in the IPL since 2015, was the costliest signing, with KKR shelling out INR 24.75 crores for him. Prior to Starc’s signing, his Australia captain Pat Cummins briefly held the record for the highest-ever bid when Sunrisers Hyderabad signed him for INR 20.50 crore.

Among the Indians, three uncapped players walked away with top honours. Sameer Rizvi, a top-order batter with Uttar Pradesh, earned the biggest deal at INR 8.4 crore, with CSK staving off aggressive bidding from Titans and Capitals to get him.

Vidarbha’s Shubham Dubey, a finisher, earned an INR 5.8 crore bid from Royals, while Jharkhand wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra was signed for INR 7.2 crore.

Having lost out on a chance to sign Johnson, the Capitals signed fellow Australian Jhye Richardson for INR 5 crore. After going unsold in the first two rounds of the auction, South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw earned a massive payday when he was signed for INR 8 crore.

He was subsequently traded to KKR. Shivam Mavi went for INR 6.4 crore to his home franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, while Umesh Yadav went for INR 5.8 crore to the Titans.

MS Dhoni will lead CSK in what could potentially be his last season, Faf du Plessis is set to lead RCB for a third straight season, while Rishabh Pant returns to lead Capitals 14 months after he met with a serious car crash that put him out of all competitive cricket for this period.

Sanju Samson will lead the Royals, while KL Rahul will lead LSG. Shreyas Iyer, who missed the previous season due to back surgery, is set to lead KKR, while Shikhar Dhawan will lead Kings. Sunrisers have announced a new captain, with Cummins taking over from South Africa’s Aiden Markram. Shubman Gill is a first-time captain for the Titans, while Hardik Pandya, who led the Titans to their inaugural title win in 2022, leads the Mumbai Indians.