Five reasons why IPL 2018 promises to be exciting

IPL 11 promises to be a riveting affair
IPL 11 promises to be a riveting affair

In a bid to stay relevant, one has to constantly evolve its product. The IPL bores no exception to the aforementioned fact.

The year 2008 will always be remembered as the watershed year for world cricket with the launch of the lucrative T20 league - IPL. Suddenly the domestic players were sharing the dressing room with greats of the game. On the entertainment front, from introducing a ten team concept to adding strategic time-out in a bid to attenuate the levels of excitement, the IPL has always tried to push the envelope.

The 2018 season of the IPL promises to escalate it to another level with a series of sweeping changes that will add magnanimity of the tournament. On that note here's a look at five reasons why IPL 2018 will be different from its predecessors:


#5 Telecast in six different languages

Star In
Star India plans to transcend cricketing boundaries in terms of broadcasting.

In September last year, Star India bought the media and broadcasting rights previously held by Sony, for a whopping Rs 16,347 crore for a period spanning five years.

In a bid to entice eyeballs and add elements of excitement to a viewer's experience, Star India has worked out a telecast plan that promises to transcend the language barrier. Along with live streaming on its hugely popular app called Hotstar, Star Sports will telecast the IPL matches across ten channels in six different languages.

"IPL is the biggest property on television today. It has withstood the challenge of fragmentation and has grown in terms of viewership and watchtime. We will focus on technology and localisation to increase the fan base." said Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director, Star India

It will be the first time that an IPL match will be broadcasted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali alongside English and Hindi, adding a much needed localization of the tournament.

#4 Captaincy with guile and exuberance

Ashwin will turn out for KXIP as skipper this year.

Two cricketers, both very contrasting in demeanor will be making their captaincy debut in this year's IPL. The case in point here is Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik.

Ashwin, blessed with an astute mindset and pristine games sense along with years of experience, will bring a much needed guile to the Kings XI setup, who have in the past struggled to find a leader, his relationship with coach Virender Sehwag will be pivotal to their team's fortune.

It'll also be interesting to see how Ashwin keeps his personal ambitions aside of proving himself as a white ball bowler in a bid to stage a comeback and how he manages superstars like Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh and get the best out of them.

D
Dinesh Karthik will captain KKR in IPL 11.

While KXIP doesn't have any substantial legacy of a captain for Ashwin to live up to, it is exactly what faces Dinesh Karthik as he moves to the land of Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo, Kolkata Night Riders, a team with a rich legacy of captaincy.

The way both of the aforementioned names respond to the rigours of captaincy amidst more established ones in MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and others will be fascinating to watch.

#3 Return of Old-rivalries

csk
CSK has been involved in epic rivalries with MI over the years

The return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after serving a two year ban will pave way for the perennial rivalries to take over.

CSK has clearly been the most consistent team in the history of the IPL, and the franchise has enjoyed thrilling rivalries with teams like Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in particular. While their rivalry with Mumbai Indians has been a nail-biting affair with MI winning 13, including IPL final of 2015 while CSK has got the better of the blue brigade on 11 occasions in 24 attempts.

Another rivalry that is set to feature in this IPL is between finalists of the inaugural IPL, Rajasthan Royals and CSK, having featured series of nail-biting encounters in the past and with revamped squads, the aforementioned rivalries will surely add magnanimity to the contest.

#2 Opportunities galore for Associate Nations

T
The 17 year old prodigy from Nepal

The IPL has time and again proved to be breeding ground for not only domestic Indian talents but time and again it has served as a launch pad for plethora of cricketers from associate nations.

From Ryan ten Doeschate to Rashid Khan, the IPL has bear witnessed to transcending of cricketing boundaries, thus attracting eye-balls globally. This year's IPL will recognize another talent taking centre-stage in the form of a 17-year old Sandeep Lamichhane from Nepal. First spotted by Scott Mckechnie, MCC Member and coach of Kowloon Cricket Club in 2015, 17 year old Sandeep with his prodigious talent had everyone including former Australian skipper Michael Clarke. Clarke invited Lamichhane at his club Western Suburbs back in Australia and the prodigious talent was racked up by the Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 IPL auctions.

#1 Introduction of DRS

IPL will have DRS for the first time since its inception
IPL will have DRS for the first time since its inception

The history between Indian cricket and DRS can be best described as a tumultuous one.

First introduced in 2008, senior Indian cricketers with the backing of the BCCI, voiced their reservations against the use of technology owing to the alleged miscreants in its implementation. Henceforth, the use of DRS in matches involving India was restricted to ICC tournaments.

In 2016, with Kohli at the helm and subtle improvements in technology, DRS was implemented in India's home Test series against England and has been a consistent feature since then. Last month, BCCI gave a green signal to the use of Decision Review System in the IPL that will certainly add an element of thrill to the contest.

Check RCB Squad 2024 Details. Follow Sportskeeda for IPL 2024 Live Score, Schedule, Points Table

Quick Links

Edited by Amar Anand