The Indian Premier League (IPL) has become a major feature in the international cricket calendar over the years. With the league now entering its 20th edition in 2027, the BCCI has planned something major for it. The BCCI held its 95th Annual General Meeting on September 18 (Friday) at its headquarters in Mumbai. The General Body focused on the IPL and unanimously decided to celebrate the upcoming 20th edition of the tournament in 2027 on a grand scale. The board confirmed that special programs will take place to mark the completion of 20 seasons of the biggest cricketing league in the world.
To manage the administration of the league, the General Body re-elected two representatives to the IPL Governing Council – Arun Singh Dhumal and M Khairul Jamal Majumdar. Dhumal is a former BCCI treasurer from the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association who has served as the IPL Governing Council Chairman since 2022.
On the other hand, M Khairul Jamal Majumdar represents the Cricket Association of Mizoram and has served as a member of the council representing state associations.
Both administrators were inducted unopposed to oversee the league’s operations.
How Brendon McCullum set the tone in the first-ever IPL match
The IPL began on April 18, 2008, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium with a match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and in that match, the tone was set courtesy of Brendon McCullum.
The New Zealand legend opened the batting for KKR and smashed an unbeaten 158 runs from 73 balls, hitting 10 fours and 13 sixes along the way. This historic innings glued all eyeballs to the IPL from Day 1, and there was no looking back for the league as it grew by leaps and bounds over the next 19 years.
Tournament history and trophy records
19 editions of the tournament have been played since 2008. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have won the most titles in the history of the league, with five titles to their name each. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are the most successful captains in the league’s history, guiding their teams to five titles each.
KKR have won three titles, while Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers, and Gujarat Titans have also won a trophy each. RCB did not win a single trophy till 2024. However, in back-to-back seasons in 2025 and 2026, they won the title twice. They will be the defending champions heading into the historic 20th edition of the IPL.
The league started with eight teams in 2008 and expanded to ten teams in 2022 with the inclusion of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, setting the current schedule at 74 matches per season.
Growth in media rights and valuations
The commercial value of the tournament has grown significantly since its launch.
In 2008, the initial ten-year television rights were sold for approximately $1 billion. In 2022, the BCCI sold the media rights for the 2023 to 2027 cycle for INR 48,390 crore, which was approximately $6.2 billion.
This agreement made the IPL the second most expensive sports league in the world in per-match media value, behind only the National Football League (NFL) of the USA.
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