The world’s second-most viewed sport returned to the franchise stage this month with the kickoff of the 28th Indian Premier League (IPL), a cricket competition featuring the best players from around the world in club based, tournament play. Cricket boasts over 2.5 billion fans globally, and the IPL’s reach is no different. Last season’s matches garnered 546 million views across 67 games, breaking viewership records and cementing the league’s status as the leading promoter of the game on a worldwide scale. The sport holds a crazed following in the Indian subcontinent, and with numerous storylines highlighting this season’s play, many fans across the world are intrigued for what lies ahead in a pivotal IPL run.
“As a fan living far away from [the matches], each moment in each game is even more captivating,” Lambert senior Shyam Sivan said.
Cricket is a fast-paced sport brought to most competing nations by the British Empire during their global reign, who taught the locals the game and saw its rapid spread throughout the Subcontinent and other parts of the world. Leagues like the IPL feature a format called Twenty20 (T20), which is the shortest form of the game and makes each ball increasingly more pivotal to the outcome of a match. Each match features 20 overs of six balls each per team, where players attempt to hit as many runs as possible and outscore the other. Previously, cricket matches hinged more towards the Test match format, which involved up to five days of play and featured more calculated, defensive tactics that often only drew the most dedicated of viewers to the game. This modern rapid-fire action found in T20 matches drives teams and players to take bigger risks with each shot and each strategy, driving viewership through the roof and cementing T20 cricket as the most globally dominant form of the sport.
This year’s edition features seasoned veteran M.S. Dhoni leading fan favorites Chennai Super Kings (CSK) into action in likely his last season before retirement. Opposing his swansong are perennial contenders Mumbai Indians (MI), followed closely by many rising young teams with star power to topple both storied franchises. Dhoni’s final run coupled with the skyrocketing talent of younger teams hungry for a championship has taken the cricket world by storm, culminating in a league showdown eagerly anticipated by fans worldwide.
“A lot of longtime cricket lovers are [even more] tuned in this year since it’s Dhoni’s final season,” Sivan explained. “The excitement around him and [CSK] is really high.”
Currently, CSK and MI are tied for the most titles in league history with five apiece, adding an extra layer to a fierce rivalry further exacerbated by Dhoni’s impending retirement. As each team attempts to add one more championship to their legacy, fans are also watching out for numerous ‘dark horse’ teams that could challenge both franchises this season. Recent additions to the league, such as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT), boast internationally-renowned captains and dynamic players not found on ‘storied’ teams, giving them a potential advantage in round-robin play and depth to contend far into the playoffs. This mix of veteran clubs and upstart teams has made for thick competition and record numbers of viewership as the season heats up.
IPL 2025 has made waves in the sport due to its rare mix of storylines and competition heading into a decisive season for many teams. As fans eagerly await to see how the season unfolds, one thing remains certain: the sport of cricket is sure to grow hand-in-hand with the skyrocketing popularity of IPL T20 action for many years to come.
