Indian Premier League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Indian Premier League

Countries	India
Administrator	Board of Control for Cricket in India
Headquarters	Mumbai, India
Format	Twenty20
First edition	2008
Latest edition	2026
Next edition	2027
Tournament format	Double round-robin format followed by playoffs
Current champion	Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2nd title)
Most successful	Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings (5 titles each)
Most runs	Virat Kohli (9,336)
Most wickets	Yuzvendra Chahal (233)
TV	List of broadcasters

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a super exciting professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organizes this big event. It started in 2007 and has ten teams, each representing a different city.

The IPL is known as one of the most successful cricket leagues in the world. It happens every year between March and May. Many people watch it, making it the most popular sports event in India. The IPL even has its own special time in the global cricket calendar. This means fewer international matches happen during the IPL season.

In 2010, the IPL made history by being the first sports event to be shown live on YouTube. Its success has inspired other sports leagues in India. The IPL is also one of the richest sports leagues globally. In 2023, the rights to show the matches were sold for a huge amount of money. This made each IPL match worth a lot! By 2026, there have been 19 seasons of this amazing tournament. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the current champions. They won the 2026 season by beating the Gujarat Titans in the final match.

There's also a women's version of the league, called the Women's Premier League. It started in 2022, and its first season was in 2023.

The Exciting History of IPL

The IPL has a fascinating story of how it became one of the biggest cricket leagues.

How the IPL Began

Before the IPL, there was another cricket league called the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007. However, the main cricket board in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), did not officially recognize it. The BCCI wanted to create its own special league.

So, on September 13, 2007, the BCCI launched the Indian Premier League. It was planned as an annual T20 cricket competition with teams owned by different groups. The first season was set to begin in April 2008.

To decide who would own the teams, an auction was held in January 2008. Eight city-based teams were chosen: Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru). The league officially started in April 2008.

A match during the first IPL season in Chennai

Teams Joining and Leaving

Over the years, some teams joined the IPL, and some left.

• In 2011, two new teams, Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, joined. But the Kochi team left after just one season due to problems with their agreements.
• The Deccan Chargers team also had to leave in 2012. A new team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, took its place in 2013.
• Pune Warriors India left in 2013 because of money disagreements with the BCCI.
• In 2015, two successful teams, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, were suspended for two seasons due to issues with fair play and rules. Two temporary teams, Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions, played in their place. CSK and RR returned in 2018.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the matches were played in the United Arab Emirates.
• In 2022, the league grew again with two new teams: Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans. This made it a ten-team tournament.
• Some teams also changed their names, like Delhi Daredevils becoming Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab becoming Punjab Kings.

Today, the IPL has 10 exciting teams competing for the trophy!

Timeline of IPL Teams

Present teams Former teams Suspended

How the IPL is Organized

The IPL is managed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The main office is in Mumbai, India. A special group called the Governing Council helps run everything, like organizing the tournaments.

Exciting Prize Money

The IPL offers big prizes for the winning teams! In the 2022 season, the total prize money was around ₹46.5 crore (which is a lot of money!). The team that won took home ₹20 crore, and the second-place team received ₹13 crore. A rule says that half of the prize money must be shared among the players of the team.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first IPL title in 2025 and received ₹20 crore. The Punjab Kings, who were the runners-up, earned ₹12 crore.

IPL Rules and How the Game is Played

The IPL has some special rules that make it unique and exciting, different from regular cricket games.

• Strategic Time-outs: During each innings, teams get two short breaks called "strategic time-outs." These breaks last two and a half minutes. The team that is bowling takes one break between the 6th and 9th overs. The team that is batting takes the other break between the 13th and 16th overs.
• Decision Review System (DRS): Since 2018, teams can ask the umpire to review a decision they think is wrong. Each team gets two chances to do this in each innings. From 2023, they can even review decisions about "wides" and "no-balls."
• Slow Over Rate: If a bowling team doesn't finish their overs on time, they might face a penalty. They might have to place fewer fielders outside the main circle for the rest of the innings.
• Impact Player: Teams can use a special substitute player called an "impact player." They can bring in this player at certain times, like when an innings starts, a wicket falls, or a batter retires. Each team can use one impact player per match.
• Team Line-up: Teams can decide their final playing eleven players even after the coin toss.
• Unfair Movement: If a fielder or wicket-keeper makes an unfair movement while the bowler is bowling, the other team gets a five-run penalty.
• Overseas Players: Each team can have a maximum of four international (overseas) players in their playing eleven. If they use an overseas player as an impact player, they can only have three other overseas players in the main team.
• Squad Size: A team can have up to 25 players in total, with a maximum of eight overseas players.
• Bouncers: Since the 2024 season, bowlers are allowed to bowl two "bouncers" (fast balls aimed at the batter's body) in one over.

Meet the IPL Teams!

The IPL started with eight teams in 2008. Over the years, some teams have changed, but the excitement has always remained! Today, there are 10 amazing teams that compete in the league.

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are the most successful teams. They have both won the IPL trophy five times! The current champions are Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Current Teams

Defunct Teams

These are teams that used to play in the IPL but are no longer part of the league.

Squads and Players

Teams get their players in a few ways: through an annual auction, by trading players with other teams, or by signing replacements if a player can't play.

How Players Join Teams

For the 2025 IPL season, each team had a total budget of ₹120 crore to spend on players. Teams must spend at least 75% of this budget. Each team needs to have at least 18 players, but no more than 25. They can have up to 8 international (overseas) players.

The Player Auction

Before the auction, teams can choose to keep a few players from their previous season. The rules for keeping players change each year. The money for these retained players is taken out of the team's budget before the auction starts.

The auction usually happens in the winter. Players who were not kept by their teams, or new players, can enter the auction. Each player sets a starting price, and teams bid for them. The team that bids the highest gets the player, and that amount becomes the player's salary for the season.

Every three years, there's a "mega auction." In a mega auction, teams can only keep a small number of players (like 6 players in the most recent one). This helps keep all teams competitive by making them build new squads often. Smaller auctions are called "mini-auctions."

Player Trades

Teams can also trade players with each other. This needs the player's agreement. There are usually three times when trades can happen: two before the auction and one before the tournament.

Player Contracts and Salaries

Player contracts usually last for one year. Teams can extend these contracts for one or two more years. Since 2014, player salaries are set in Indian Rupees. International players can choose to be paid in their own currency.

The BCCI gives 10% of international players' salaries to their home country's cricket board.

In 2024, a report said that the average IPL salary for the top 10 players was ₹12.37 crore. This is one of the highest average salaries in sports leagues worldwide. IPL players are paid for the tournament's duration, which is less than two months.

List of most expensive player in IPL Auction each year

Year	Auction Location	Player	Nationality	Team	Price INR	Ref.
2008	Mumbai	MS Dhoni	India	Chennai Super Kings	9.5 crore
2009	Goa	Kevin Pietersen	England	Royal Challengers Bangalore	9.8 crore
		Andrew Flintoff		Chennai Super Kings
2010	Bengaluru	Shane Bond	New Zealand	Kolkata Knight Riders	4.8 crore
		Kieron Pollard	West Indies	Mumbai Indians
2011		Gautam Gambhir	India	Kolkata Knight Riders	14.9 crore
2012	Chennai	Ravindra Jadeja		Chennai Super Kings	12.8 crore
2013		Glenn Maxwell	Australia	Mumbai Indians	6.3 crore
2014	Dubai	Yuvraj Singh	India	Royal Challengers Bangalore	14 crore
2015	Bengaluru			Delhi Daredevils	16 crore
2016		Shane Watson	Australia	Royal Challengers Bangalore	9.5 crore
2017		Ben Stokes	England	Rising Pune Supergiant	14.5 crore
2018				Rajasthan Royals	12.5 crore
2019	Jaipur	Varun Chakravarthy	India	Kings XI Punjab	8.4 crore
2020	Kolkata	Pat Cummins	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	15.5 crore
2021	Chennai	Chris Morris	South Africa	Rajasthan Royals	16.25 crore
2022	Bengaluru	Ishan Kishan	India	Mumbai Indians	15.25 crore
2023	Kochi	Sam Curran	England	Punjab Kings	18.5 crore
2024	Dubai	Mitchell Starc	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	24.75 crore
2025	Jeddah	Rishabh Pant	India	Lucknow Super Giants	27 crore
2026	Abu Dhabi	Cameron Green	Australia	Kolkata Knight Riders	25.25 crore

Tournament Results

IPL Champions Through the Years

Year	Final			Venue	Player of the Season
	Winner	Result	Runners up
2008	Rajasthan Royals 164/7 (20 overs)	RR won by 3 wickets Scorecard	Chennai Super Kings 163/5 (20 overs)	DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai	Shane Watson (RR)
2009	Deccan Chargers 143/6 (20 overs)	DC won by 6 runs Scorecard	Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/9 (20 overs)	Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	Adam Gilchrist (DC)
2010	Chennai Super Kings 168/5 (20 overs)	CSK won by 22 runs Scorecard	Mumbai Indians 146/9 (20 overs)	DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai	Sachin Tendulkar (MI)
2011	Chennai Super Kings 205/5 (20 overs)	CSK won by 58 runs Scorecard	Royal Challengers Bangalore 147/8 (20 overs)	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	Chris Gayle (RCB)
2012	Kolkata Knight Riders 192/5 (19.4 overs)	KKR won by 5 wickets Scorecard	Chennai Super Kings 190/3 (20 overs)	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	Sunil Narine (KKR)
2013	Mumbai Indians 148/9 (20 overs)	MI won by 23 runs Scorecard	Chennai Super Kings 125/9 (20 overs)	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Shane Watson (RR)
2014	Kolkata Knight Riders 200/7 (19.3 overs)	KKR won by 3 wickets Scorecard	Kings XI Punjab 199/4 (20 overs)	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru	Glenn Maxwell (KXIP)
2015	Mumbai Indians 202/5 (20 overs)	MI won by 41 runs Scorecard	Chennai Super Kings 161/8 (20 overs)	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Andre Russell (KKR)
2016	Sunrisers Hyderabad 208/7 (20 overs)	SRH won by 8 runs Scorecard	Royal Challengers Bangalore 200/7 (20 overs)	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru	Virat Kohli (RCB)
2017	Mumbai Indians 129/8 (20 overs)	MI won by 1 run Scorecard	Rising Pune Supergiant 128/6 (20 overs)	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad	Ben Stokes (RPS)
2018	Chennai Super Kings 181/2 (18.3 overs)	CSK won by 8 wickets Scorecard	Sunrisers Hyderabad 178/6 (20 overs)	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	Sunil Narine (KKR)
2019	Mumbai Indians 149/8 (20 overs)	MI won by 1 run Scorecard	Chennai Super Kings 148/7 (20 overs)	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad	Andre Russell (KKR)
2020	Mumbai Indians 157/5 (18.4 overs)	MI won by 5 wickets Scorecard	Delhi Capitals 156/7 (20 overs)	Dubai International Stadium, Dubai	Jofra Archer (RR)
2021	Chennai Super Kings 192/3 (20 overs)	CSK won by 27 runs Scorecard	Kolkata Knight Riders 165/9 (20 overs)	Dubai International Stadium, Dubai	Harshal Patel (RCB)
2022	Gujarat Titans 133/3 (18.1 overs)	GT won by 7 wickets Scorecard	Rajasthan Royals 130/9 (20 overs)	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	Jos Buttler (RR)
2023	Chennai Super Kings 171/5 (15 overs)	CSK won by 5 wickets (DLS) Scorecard	Gujarat Titans 214/4 (20 overs)	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	Shubman Gill (GT)
2024	Kolkata Knight Riders 114/2 (10.3 overs)	KKR won by 8 wickets Scorecard	Sunrisers Hyderabad 113/10 (18.3 overs)	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	Sunil Narine (KKR)
2025	Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190/9 (20 overs)	RCB won by 6 runs Scorecard	Punjab Kings 184/7 (20 overs)	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	Suryakumar Yadav (MI)
2026	Royal Challengers Bengaluru 161/5 (18 overs)	RCB won by 5 wickets Scorecard	Gujarat Titans 155/8 (20 overs)	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad	Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR)

Team Performance in IPL Finals

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have each won five titles, which is the most in the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders have won three titles. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won 2 titles. Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have each won one title. The current champions are the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They defeated the Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets in the 2026 IPL final to win their second title in a row.

^† Team now defunct

Team Standings Each Season

• Active teams are listed alphabetically. Defunct teams are listed by order of entry to the league, then alphabetically.

     Champions
     Runners up
     Team won the 3rd place playoff; only took place in 2010
     Team qualified for the playoffs or semi-final

Positions Each Season

     Champions
     Runners up
     Team won the 3rd place playoff; only took place in 2010
     Team qualified for the playoffs or semi-final

All-Time Team Standings

Source

IPL Records and Statistics

Virat Kohli is the highest run-scorer in IPL.

Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in IPL.

Source

Most Appearances by Players

As of 22 May  2026 (2026 -05-22)^[update]

• Source: ESPNcricinfo
• Currently active IPL players appear in boldface.

End-of-Season Awards

At the end of each IPL season, special awards are given to players and teams for their amazing performances.

Prize Money for Top Teams

Starting with the 2026 season, the prize money is given out like this:

• Winning team: ₹20 crore (about US$2.5 million)
• Runner-up team: ₹13 crore (about US$1.3 million)
• Third-place team: ₹7 crore (about US$736,000)
• Fourth-place team: ₹6.5 crore (about US$684,000)

Fair Play Award

This award goes to the team that shows the best sportsmanship throughout the season. Umpires score how fairly each team plays after every match. The team with the highest score wins this award. The Chennai Super Kings won this award for the seventh time in 2025.

Orange Cap: For Top Batters

The Orange Cap is given to the player who scores the most runs in a season. The player who is currently leading in runs gets to wear this cap while fielding. The final winner keeps the cap for the season. Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear it, and Shaun Marsh was the first to win it. David Warner has won it three times, and Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli have won it twice. Sai Sudharsan of Gujarat Titans won the Orange Cap in 2025.

Purple Cap: For Top Bowlers

The Purple Cap is for the bowler who takes the most wickets in a season. The bowler leading in wickets gets to wear this cap during matches. The final winner keeps the cap. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dwayne Bravo are the only players to have won it twice. Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans won the Purple Cap in the 2025 season.

Most Valuable Player

This award goes to the player who has the biggest impact on the tournament. It used to be called "Man of the Tournament." Suryakumar Yadav won this award in 2025.

Emerging Player Award

This award celebrates young talent. It has changed names over the years, but since 2014, it's called the Emerging Player of the Year. It's given to the best young player in the league. Mustafizur Rahman is the only international player to win it. The 2025 winner was Sai Sudharsan.

IPL Finances

The IPL is a very valuable sports league, attracting a lot of money and sponsors.

Title Sponsorship

The title sponsor is a big company whose name is linked with the IPL.

From 2008 to 2012, DLF was the main sponsor. Then PepsiCo took over. Later, Vivo became the sponsor. In 2020, Dream11 was the sponsor for one year due to disagreements between countries. Vivo returned in 2021, but then the Tata Group became the title sponsor from 2022.

Crowd during a match of the 2023 IPL season in Kolkata

IPL's Brand Value

The IPL's value has grown a lot over the years. Experts said it was worth US$4.2 billion in 2016, and by 2022, it was valued at US$11 billion! This huge growth happened partly because of a TV deal that allowed more people to watch the IPL in different languages.

The BCCI also takes out insurance for the IPL, which helps protect against money losses from things like bad weather or other unexpected events.

How to Watch the IPL

The IPL is India's most-watched sports event. Many millions of viewers watch parts of the tournament every year. The 2025 final was watched by 169 million people on TV, making it a record-breaking cricket broadcast!

Currently, you can watch IPL matches in India on JioHotstar (a streaming service) and on the Star Sports TV channels. In 2022, the rights to show the matches were sold for a huge amount of money. This made the IPL the second most valuable sports media property in the world, after the National Football League in the USA.

List of Broadcasters

Here's where you can watch the IPL in different parts of the world:

See also

In Spanish: Liga Premier de India para niños

• Cricket in India
• Sport in India – overview of Indian sports culture
• List of cricket leagues in India
• List of professional sports leagues in India