The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was founded in 2007, with funding provided by Zee Entertainment Enterprises.[13] The ICL was not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the BCCI were not pleased with its committee members joining the ICL executive board.[14] To prevent players from joining the ICL, the BCCI increased the prize money in their own domestic tournaments and also imposed lifetime bans on players joining the ICL, which was considered a rebel league by the board.[15][16]
Foundation
The IPL has been designed to entice an entire new generation of sports fans into the grounds throughout the country. The dynamic Twenty20 format has been designed to attract a young fan base, which also includes women and children.
— Lalit Modi during the launch of the IPL.[17]
On 13 September 2007, the BCCI announced the launch of a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition called Indian Premier League whose first season was slated to start in April 2008, in a "high-profile ceremony" in New Delhi. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, said to be the mastermind behind the idea of the IPL, spelled out the details of the tournament including its format, the prize money, franchise revenue system and squad composition rules. It was also revealed that the IPL would be run by a seven-man governing council composed of former India players and BCCI officials and that the top two teams of the IPL would qualify for that year's Champions League Twenty20. Modi also clarified that they had been working on the idea for two years and that the IPL was not started as a "knee-jerk reaction" to the ICL.[17] The league's format was similar to that of the Premier League of England and the NBA in the United States.[16]
In order to decide the owners for the new league, an auction was held on 24 January 2008 with the total base prices of the franchises costing around $400 million.[16] At the end of the auction, the winning bidders were announced, as well as the cities the teams would be based in: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali, and Mumbai.[16] In the end, the franchises were all sold for a total of $723.59 million.[18] The Indian Cricket League soon folded in 2008.[19]
Expansions and terminations
Crowd during a match of the 2015 IPL season in Hyderabad, India.
On 21 March 2010, it was announced that two new franchises – Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala – would join the league before the fourth season in 2011.[20] Sahara Adventure Sports Group bought the Pune franchise for $370 million while Rendezvous Sports World bought the Kochi franchise for $333.3 million.[20] However, one year later, on 11 November 2011, it was announced that the Kochi Tuskers Kerala side would be terminated following the side breaching the BCCI's terms of conditions.[21]
Then, on 14 September 2012, following the team not being able to find new owners, the BCCI announced that the 2009 champions, the Deccan Chargers, would be terminated.[22] The next month, on 25 October, an auction was held to see who would be the owner of the replacement franchise, with Sun TV Network winning the bid for the Hyderabad franchise.[23] The team would be named Sunrisers Hyderabad.[24]
Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL on 21 May 2013 over financial differences with the BCCI.[25] The franchise was officially terminated by the BCCI, on 26 October 2013, on account of the franchise failing to provide the necessary bank guarantee.[26]
On 14 June 2015, it was announced that two-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, and the inaugural season champions, Rajasthan Royals, would be suspended for two seasons following their role in a match-fixing and betting scandal.[27] Then, on 8 December 2015, following an auction, it was revealed that Pune and Rajkot would replace Chennai and Rajasthan for two seasons.[28] The two teams were the Rising Pune Supergiant and the Gujarat Lions.[29]
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