IPL 2018: 4 reasons why IPL is better than any other domestic T20 league in the world

When the Indian Premier league started in early 2008, T20 format was a newbie in cricket. The fans were still trying to get to grips with the shorter and highly effervescent format. One thing was clear though, the format excited the audiences. It drew large numbers in the stadiums and was oriented for the casual fans.

A decade later, it is fair to say that T20 cricket has established itself firmly in world cricket. Following the footsteps of the IPL, many different leagues have been launched across the world and to an extent, each of those leagues has been very popular and productive.

But if a comparison has to be drawn between these domestic leagues, the IPL stands out of the lot. Here, we look at four reasons that explain why the IPL is considered to be an epitome of T20 cricket and why the IPL is the best domestic league in the world :

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#1 The Quality of cricket

Cricket is of high quality in the IPL

The quality at which the games are played in the IPL is extremely high and, close to international standards. The batsmen score runs, the bowlers pick up wickets and, the fielders pull off some outrageous catches in the outfield.

There is never a dull moment and, most of the matches go down to the wire.The competition is such that it demands the players to up their games to evolve and adapt to high-pressure situations.

This is one of the reasons why youngsters who play in the IPL are accustomed to high-pressure moments and, hence succeed on the International stage as well.

#2 The Foreign players

Ben Stokes has had a great IPL career so far

The IPL continues to be home to some of the elite International players, who play a key role for their respective International teams. They don't just make up the numbers in the league but set it on fire through their unparalleled talents.

The likes of Ben Stokes, Steve Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Starc, just to name a few are absolute superstars in world cricket and when they play in the IPL, the quality of the game sky-rockets. They prefer to play the IPL over any other league and their presence makes the league a special one.

Not only do they play well on the field, they also provide some guidance to budding young cricketers and their presence in the dressing rooms is invaluable for these youngsters.

#3 The Pitches

The pitches in the IPL promote a balanced competition

The pitches in the IPL are also top quality. As is the trend in T20s, the pitches are batsmen friendly to promote a high scoring game, but they also have something for the bowlers as well.

The cricket is highly entertaining and we see huge scores being amassed quite easily. A lot of credit should go to the curators for producing belters match after match. The popularity of the IPL is largely due to the exciting games and the pitches play a huge part for that to happen.

Most of the pitches in the IPL provide even bounce where the batsmen can play on the up but bowlers are able to get wickets if they put the ball in the right areas.

#4 The coverage

Even the IPL auction is broadcasted

The IPL brought with itself a revolutionary era in broadcasting. The scale or the level at which the games are covered is colossal.The coverage starts right from the player auctions and, there is a huge craze for every event that is streamed among the fans.

The league reaches to every remote part of India and people are glued to their televisions if they are not able to watch the matches live in the stadiums. There is a screening of games at various locations across India and recently, there has been a trend of organizing games in smaller towns as well.

The coverage is worldwide and hence, a large number of fans follow the league from various parts of the globe. South Africa and, UAE have been hosts to the IPL in the past and the results were staggering. There was a huge crowd in almost every game and the fans passionately supported their favourite teams.