All-conquering IPL returns to capture attention of cricket world

The bonanza that is the Indian Premier League is back in town or, rather, Mumbai and Pune. As highlighted last week, there is an unprecedented amount of professional international cricket taking place at present. Attention is likely to be deflected away from it once the first IPL match opens on March 26.

Now entering its 15th edition, the IPL is bigger than ever before, having increased its franchises from eight to 10 and sharpened its ability to generate money.

Under the format chosen for the 2022 tournament, 74 matches will be played, with the final scheduled for May 29. The 10 teams have been divided into two groups of five. In the group stage, each team will play 14 matches. That will be achieved by playing each team within the same group twice, four teams in the other group once, and a paired team in the other group twice.

The rather convoluted format is similar to one used in 2011, when the group placings were made through seedings rather than random selection. Nevertheless, the process has managed to pair five-time winners, Mumbai Indians, in Group A with four-time winners, Chennai Super Kings, in Group B. The two new teams, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have also been paired. Last year, 60 matches were played and, had the previous double round-robin format been retained, 90 matches would have been generated.

Even the IPL organizers seemed to have baulked at that number. As an outside observer, with no loyalty to any of the teams, I have found it difficult to keep interest in the tournament between its early stages and the finals. There are too many games in a short space of time, all being played in the same frenetic manner. It must be different for cricket-loving Indians who have team loyalty,