The T20 cricket tournaments gained prominence in the early 2000s. T20 Blast was the first T20 league in the world which was launched in 2003 and held in England for English and Welsh first-class countries. Since then, various countries have created their own Twenty20 leagues to boost revenues and launch new cricketers. However, compared to the other leagues, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Big Bash League (BBL) are the best and most entertaining T20 leagues in the world.
Essentially, the Indian Premier League is played in India, while the Big Bash League is played in Australia. Both the IPL and the BBL witness domestic and overseas players come together to play the sport that is etched in the hearts of millions of cricket lovers. The cash-rich leagues draw a huge crowd every season, and both countries celebrate the cricket festival for weeks. Talking about IPL vs BBL, here’s some more information about both the leagues and the difference between the two.
IPL vs BBL
The Origin
IPL: The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the professional T20 Cricket League that is held yearly in India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) founded the IPL in 2007. The league is contested by eight franchise teams that are based out of 8 Indian cities. The Indian T20 League is generally held in the months of March and May every year.
Also Read: IPL Winners List of All Seasons
BBL: The Big Bash League (BBL), also known as the KFC Big Bash League or Big Bash, is the professional T20 Cricket League that is held yearly in Australia. Cricket Australia established the franchise-based league in 2011. Similar to IPL, BBL also features 8 franchise teams based on eight different Australian cities. BBL matches are usually played during the summers in Australia in the months of December, January, and February.
The Formats of IPL and BBL
IPL: The Indian Premier League features eight teams from eight Indian cities that include Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mohali, Jaipur, and Chennai. Each team plays twice with every other team in a home and away format in the league phase. When the league phase ends, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams from the league phase play the first qualifying match, and the winning team goes straight to the final. The losing team plays the second qualifying match to qualify for the final. The third and fourth teams from the league phase compete in an eliminator match, and the winner of this match plays against the loser of the first qualifying match. The team that wins the second qualifying match plays in IPL finale.
IPL has a total of 60 games which include 56 Round-Robin matches followed by four play-offs to declare the winning team.
BBL: In the BBL, all the teams play against each other twice during a season, for 56 regular season matches before entering the finals. When it comes to the format of the BBL, it consists of 40 group stage matches where every team plays 10 matches before the semi-finals. The BBL finale is played in the home ground of the highest-ranked team.
IPL vs BBL Team Composition
IPL: The IPL witnesses the best cricketers across the world come together to play for their teams and celebrate cricket. The team composition in IPL must include between 18 to 25 players, including a maximum of 8 overseas players. A team can include a maximum of 4 overseas players in its playing XI. A team cannot pick an Under-19 player unless he has played first-class or List-A cricket. The salary cap of the squad shouldn’t exceed INR 850 million.
Also Read: Who is the King of IPL?
BBL: When it comes to the team composition of the BBL, each franchise can include a maximum of 19 contracted players in the squad for a season. The squad should include two rookie contracts and 6 overseas players. Only three overseas players can be included in the playing XI for a particular match. Each team can also include a maximum of two overseas cricketers as replacements if the original overseas players get injured or withdraw from the game.
IPL and BBL Prize Money & Rules
IPL: Usually, the total prize money in the IPL may vary every year. However, since 2018, the prize money of IPL is generally INR 20 crore for the winning team and INR 12.5 crore for the runners-up. The third and fourth-placed teams receive INR 8.75 crore each for reaching the play-offs. In 2020, BCCI halved the prize money, and the winning team received INR 10 crore while the runners-up received INR 6.25 crore. The third and fourth-placed teams received INR 4.375 crores each.
BBL: On the other hand, the BBL 2020/21 winner will receive AUD 450,000 (INR 2.45 crore approx). The runners-up receive AUD 260,000, while each losing semi-finalist receives AUD 80,000, and the team that finishes fifth receives AUD 20,000.
IPL vs BBL Franchise Strength
IPL: When it comes to the franchise strength of the two popular leagues in the world, the IPL has some strong franchises, and the competition is always close and real. In the last five years, three different teams have won the coveted trophy, which indicates a good competition with a number of franchises having talented players who have the potential of steering their team towards winning the tournament.
Also Read: Best IPL Players of All Time
BBL: In the BBL, four different franchises have won the tournament in the past five seasons, which indicates that the BBL is very competitive. Most of the final matches involve tight competition throughout the game.
Conclusion
Putting things into perspective, IPL proves to be one of the best T20 leagues in the world, with the best players and most entertainment. Technically, the winner of the IPL receives 10 times more of the prize money of the BBL winner, and the runners-up of the IPL receives 6 times more of the prize money of the BBL runners-up. It goes without saying that the Indian Premier League is one of the richest sports in the world.
Millions of fans join the IPL extravaganza and participate in the cash-rich sport through fantasy cricket leagues. They make their own fantasy teams based on their cricket knowledge and win cash prizes when the players in the team perform well. Play fantasy cricket games on MPL and stand a chance to win daily cash prizes.
