Indian Premier League, abbreviated as IPL, is a 20-20 cricket tournament organized by BCCI and chaired by Mr. Lalit Modi. The inaugural season was in the year 2008 and was an instant success. Often called as "manoranjan ka baap", it revolutionized the way cricket was played.
The second season coincided with the Indian General Elections and for security reasons was shifted to South Africa. IPL 2010 is back in India with promise of better cricket and entertainment.
The third season will be played between March 12 and April 25, 2010 with the reigning champions Deccan Chargers hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match. IPL 2010 is forecasted to have an estimated television audience of more than 200 million people in India.
As compared to the previous years, IPL 2010 will witness a few alterations in the rules. In the first two seasons there were players which were branded as Icon players.
This enabled them to pocket 15% more fees then the others. The current season will witness quashing of this rule. The original rule of two-player cap on centrally contracted Aussie players in each IPL team has been scrapped from this year onwards. Indian Cricket League, a rebel 20-20 cricket tournament was also initiated in the year 2008 which attracted players from different countries. These players were branded as rebels and were forbidden by their respective boards to play in any ICC regulated tournament.
IPL 2010 will see an uplifting of this ban and these rebel players will be given an opportunity to participate in IPL 2010. The previous editions witnessed a playoff for the first two positions with total matches being 59. This year there will be a total of 60 matches with a playoff for the third position between the two losing teams of the semifinal. This would also act as a qualifier for the Champions League.
In the trial matches of IPL pink balls would be used and their success would determine its usage in the matches. Other than the regular venues four new venues have been added. These are Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala hosting games of the Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, respectively. The player auction this year has attracted players not only from the nine test playing countries but also from associate countries.
IPL in the first two seasons revolutionized the Indian Entertainment Industry. It boasted TRPs more than most of the daily soaps and serials. Such was the popularity and fan following, there were producers who were afraid to release movies in the IPL season. With the new rules and players, IPL 2010 is bound to be more successful than the preceding seasons.
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