5 aspects where Big Bash is better than IPL 

There are a lot of things to be admired about the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has established itself as an international-level league, made a lot of players financially well-off, provided a stage for young talent, and given the Indian public something to look forward to in peak summer.

It is a shining beacon of India's soft power in general and its unique position as a cricketing superpower. Yet, it is not the most well regarded Twenty20 league in the world. Not anymore.

Pyrotechnics going ablaze during a Big Bash match

Without even dwelling on its troubled headlines, like spot-fixing, banned franchises, obfuscating administration, bankrupt, tainted, absconding (take your pick) ex-owners or the selectively revealing tweets from founder and ex-IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, the IPL has been left behind; purely on spectacle and marketing.

Australia's Big Bash is the younger league but its maturity is exemplary. Debuting in 2011, it has rapidly become the Aussie summer's marquee attraction by packaging itself anew for children and moms. It is a quick 3-hour entertainment package filled with enough glitz, glamour and pyrotechnics to hook the family into returning for the next games. Since its inception, it has been nothing short of a resounding success throughout Australia and the global cricketing community.

The iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is home to Sydney Sixers

Also, thankfully, unlike the IPL, it doesn't have Bollywood kitsch dragging it down. Ever since it began, the innovations in the IPL have been limited to cheerleaders and strategic timeouts, a terribly disguised attempt at squeezing in more ad time. Have a look at the image below.

The grills all around the stadium in India prevent an unrestricted view

The proximity to the cheerleaders notwithstanding, the crowd has to watch the game through a metal cage, even after getting a front row seat! Big Bash works because it cares about the viewers at home and the crowd in the stadium. Here are just 5 of the areas where it has stolen a march over the IPL.

#5 Crowd Experience

Try getting into the Chinnaswamy or Wankhede Stadium for a match, and you'll understand the pains a fan in India has to endure to get to watch a game. The heightened security, 4-hour long queues, bad washrooms, restricted movement in the stadium, and overpriced food are all mood dampeners. IPL should be thankful that people still turn up.

Big Bash takes conscious efforts to improve the viewing experience

Contrast this to the surfeit of creative props, both sponsored and crowd-made in Big Bash. Compare the seating infrastructure in India to the pool seats and grass banks Down Under. They consciously keep it family-friendly with 4 seats for $40, which is light on the pocket and high on returns. The experience is less expensive and more intuitive. It is by design not by default; which is precisely why a Melbourne Derby game draws a bigger crowd than a Boxing Day Test. The current record stands at 80,883 for a game.

The kids have taken to the Big Bash in huge numbers

The Big Bash has now got better average attendance than the IPL when compared with the captive audience they have. The eighth BBL season sneaked into 10th position as the most popular league by attendance. 928,585 people passed through ticket turnstiles over 35 games, netting an average attendance of 26,531. That's just 9 people per match less than the IPL! Bear in mind, India adds the population of Australia every year.

#4 Crazy Innovations

The Jumbotron at the Etihad Stadium, Melbourne is an exciting import from NBA

It's been an early adopter of the new. With zinger bails, black blades, jumbotrons, rocket man, helmet cams, kid zones, and autograph sessions, Big Bash has been a trailblazer in innovation.

Even the 8 websites of the franchises are wonderfully integrated by striking the right balance between uniformity and the respective franchise's brand identity. I am willing to take bets that if there's a chance of introducing floating seats, right beside the tall floodlights for a truly bird's eye view, Big Bash will be the league to do it first.

Zinger bails were quickly adopted worldwide after first being seen in Big Bash

Andre Russell used a black bat to spice up the spectacle

Chris Gayle during an autograph session

Rocketman, with his jetpack, giving an aerial view

For its single-mindedness to bring in fresh innovations, Big Bash is the true successor of the Kerry Packer World Series, which first changed cricket back in 1977.

#3 Concurrent Women's League

Women's Big Bash League's captains posing at an official shoot in Sydney

This is a statement of intent and true feminism on display. Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) commenced in the 2015–16 season, aligned to the men's competition. Token appeasement was trashed and women's cricket was embraced and promoted.

The branding of the clubs is the same, and often the women and men play doubleheaders directly putting the women’s game into the spotlight. And guess what? The viewership has gone up! The women have played splendid cricket.

The Women's League has held its own

All major international stars like Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Kirby Short, Alex Blackwell, Alyssa Healy, Dane van Niekerk, Stafanie Taylor, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur ply their skills during the Australian summer, making it a league brimming with top talent.

#2 Crisp Scheduling

Mitchell Johnson plays for Perth Scorchers, who have won the league a record 3 times

Big Bash has a crisper schedule, packing in the games to reduce overkill. In the 8-team, 35 matches a season format, each team plays every other team at least once. However, each team is also assigned a particular 'rival' whom they play for a second time.

The assigned 'rival' for a team does not change generally in different seasons. Cross-town teams such as Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars; and Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder have been assigned as 'rivals' to each other. This allows BBL to have 2 Melbourne derbies as well as 2 Sydney derbies within a single season, which are now blockbuster events. No derby in IPL has managed to do this.

#1 Cool kits and smart advertising

The Big Bash kits are better designed and logos carefully placed

Big Bash's roster of sponsors is creative in its approach. It has also shied away from gambling, tobacco and alcohol sponsors. They have vivid logos and integrate themselves better to the spectacle, appealing to both kids and adults.

During the 2015-16 season, Cricket Australia and Hollywood studio Warner Brothers joined forces to promote the film Batman v Superman during the games. Again, this was organically laid out, a strategy that's a barge-pole length away from promotions of Bollywood films done in the cricket TV studios in India.

The bright coloured kits are a common feature amongst the 8 teams

The IPL, for all its riches, has players donning kits that have garish blobs as sponsors' logos. It exemplifies nouveau riche brands, flush with venture capitalist money, but with no advertising class and design sense. The jerseys across the IPL are an assault on the eyes. Advertising when done right doesn't feel intrusive. Sample this. Why not have TAG Heuer strategic timeout instead of CEAT? Makes money, makes sense.