With the ability to fill cricket stadiums, attract between 7 million and 24 million television viewers for a single match, the Indian Premier League's (IPL's) popularity is beyond question. IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, would have been pleasantly surprised at the resounding success of a tournament that only aimed to out-perform the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). The success of the IPL is not down to chance but a combination of factors and circumstances.
== IPL's appeal to the Indian market ==
With a population exceeding one billion and a cricket-mad society, India is the most lucrative market for cricket in the world. The Indian Premier League is essential an Indian tournament that was meant to be played with India. The IPL's popularity owes a great deal of its lustre by being attractive to a large percentage of cricket fans in India. In the 2008 edition of the IPL, the stands were packed to capacity as the locals turned out in droves to support their local franchises. Even when the 2009 IPL was held in South Africa, viewership was still worthy enough because it still got traction with Indian viewers.
== The T20 product ==
Since its introduction in England, the T20 product took off-even before the Indian Premier League was formed. Domestic T20 competitions were the rage in England, South Africa and the West Indians already, demonstrating that there was a vibrant, untapped market for the shorter form of the game. The shortest form of cricket is exciting and action-packed. Viewers and spectators do not have to spend an entire day watching a game and it makes use of the prime time slot nicely, so folks can enjoy a match after work and still have time left over. The T20 game eliminates the meandering middle overs of the 50-over game and accentuates the pressure. With only 120 legal deliveries in an innings, the pressure is one from the start. Cricket fans already loved the T20 format-the IPL merely took advantage of the tide.
== Use of star players ==
Even before the IPL, fans loved the idea of seeing the best players from around the world. Recall the Super Series that pitted the mighty Australians against an ICC World team comprised of superstars from other cricket playing countries. The IPL brought together international stars on the Indian circuit. Fans got to witness Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar opening the batting in a team that included Dwayne Bravo and Shaun Pollock.
Other stars like Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jacques Kallis populated IPL teams, in addition to the star Indian players like Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag-the list can go on and on. Even when the international players in the IPL were not stars, the IPL franchises were able to recruit the best T20 players from other leagues who made a name for themselves in the IPL. The use of star players from around the world increased the global appeal of the tournament.
== Other innovations ==
The IPL included some novel innovations that kept followers interested. The concept of an auction for players was something new to cricket. The prices the players fetched in the auction added to the spectacle and excitement of the tournament. IPL organisers involved Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty in the franchise initiative with great success and integrated dancers, music, and ensured that each franchise was geographically linked to an area. As such, the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians were based in Chennai and Mumbai respectively, facilitating parochial support. Such innovations were carefully done in order to maximize the appeal of the IPL to the Indian market and the global audience as well.
== Conclusion ==
The list of reasons for the IPL's success can go much further, but the main reasons are its star attraction (in the ownership and players), market, the product offered and well-considered innovations. Arguably, the major draw of the IPL is its international appeal and global following that was demonstrated in the success of the second edition, which South Africa hosted.
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