The Indian Premier League, year after year continues its reign of domination over other T20 leagues. The love for the IPL among the viewers has been to such a colossal extent that it is considered to be the most profitable event in cricket. The IPL is into its 8th season and since its inception in 2008, it has just been on the rise. There have been a few unwanted controversies, but then which famous event is controversy free? The multimillion dollar league has been surrounded by some exceptional facts. Some of these facts are simply jaw dropping. In this article, we have a look at some of the most astonishing facts surrounding the IPL.
1. FRIENDS FOREVER – Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa:
The two teammates from Karnataka have always been beside each other. A team with Uthappa cannot be without Pandey and vice versa. Below, are the names of the teams for which both these talented batsmen have played.
2008: Mumbai Indians
2009-2010: Royal Challengers Bangalores
2011-2013: Pune Warriors India
2014-: Kolkata Knight Riders
2. FEMALE COMMENATATORS:
For the first time in the history of any cricket tournament, four female commentators have been a part of a single tournament. This remarkable feat happened in the ongoing Pepsi IPL 2015. The four female commentators, are the ex cricketers of national sides. The female commentators in IPL 2015 are:
Anjum Chopra (India)
Lisa Sthalekar (Australia)
Isa Guha (England)
Melanie Jones (Australia)
3. DEEPAK HOODA – THE LOSS MAKER:
This 20 year old has been the find of this season so far. But, he is famous for an inauspicious aspect. The Rajasthan Royals had to suffer a loss of Rs 2.5 lacks because of Hooda. This happened since 44 Kookaburra balls were lost because of Hooda. Harsha Bhogle reiterated this fact in the commentary box as well.
4. ASHOK DINDA – THE BAD LUCK CHARM?
Ashok Dinda as a bowler is often very expensive. But, consider this as bad luck or sheer coincidence, whichever team Dinda has played for, has flopped terribly. Check out the list yourself!
2008: KKR (6th out of 8)
2009: KKR (8th out of 8)
2010: KKR (6th out of 8)
2011: DD (10th out of 10)
2012: PWI (9th out of 9)
2013: PWI (8th out of 9)
2014: RCB (7th out of 8)
5. SENSATIONAL SURESH:
Raina has not missed a single IPL game, which is a feat in itself. Another positive factor about Raina has been that he has scored over 400 runs in every edition of the IPL.
6. SIMPLE CHENNAI:
Call it a weird superstition or something else, but the Chennai Super Kings have not changed their jersey even once since the IPL commenced. A rare feat indeed!
7. CAPTAIN COOL – MSD:
MS Dhoni is the only captain to lead his side in all the editions of the IPL. This glorious man and his side deserve our complete respect! Hats off!
8. MASSIVE AGE GAP:
On 24th April 2015, when RR took on RCB, a unique thing happened. For the first time in the IPL, the oldest player and the youngest player in the league were pitted against one another. Pravin Tambe (43 years 198 days old) of the RR took on RCB, who had Sarfaraz Khan (17 years 179 days). An age gap of 26 years! That’s almost a generation apart!
9. THE FOUR FULL TIME SPINNERS:
When RCB played KKR on the 11th of April 2015, another rare feat occurred. For the first time in T20 cricket, a side fielded 4 full time spinners. The Knight Riders had the following four full time spinners:
Piyush Chawla
Sunil Narine
KC Cariappa
Shakib Al Hassan
10. THE UNDER- VALUATION:
Chennai Super Kings, the best and among the most popular sides of the IPL, was valued at just Rs 5,00,000 (under $ 10,000) by its owners. Well, how could that be possible, as their player Ravindra Jadeja himself is paid $ 2 million for every season!