Indian Street Premier League

Indian Street Premier League
Countries India
FormatT10 cricket
First edition2024
Latest edition2024
Next edition2025
Tournament formatRound-robin and knockout
Number of teams6
Current championTigers of Kolkata (1st title)
Most successfulTigers of Kolkata (1 title)
TVSony Sports Network (TV)
SonyLIV (Internet)
Websiteispl-t10.com

The Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) is a T10 tennis ball cricket league held in India. Founded in 2024, the league aims to help uncover emerging cricketing talent, with matches played using tennis balls.

History

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The ISPL was inspired by a cricket talent hunt which took place in 2021 in the Dharavi slums, with the idea being to help poorer athletes have a chance to play professional cricket.[1] Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the core committee member of the tournament alongside BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar and Amol Kale. Former India national cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has been appointed as the chief mentor of the tournament.[2][3][4]

The first season was held in March 2024 at Dadoji Kondadev Stadium, Maharashtra.[5] It had an overall viewership of 11 million, and atendance of 500,000.[6]

The ISPL has announced plans to start a 6-team Middle East edition in the future.[7]

The second season is to be held in January and February 2025.[8]

Organisation

[edit]

Player acquisition

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The player auction for the 2024 season was held on 25 February 2024.[9] In which, 96 players were selected from a pool of 350 players. Each team had a total salary cap of 1 crore (US$120,000). A total of 4.91 crore (US$590,000) was spent on the players selected.[10][11][12]

Prize money

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The inaugural ISPL season offered the champions with 1 crore (US$120,000), and the runners-up with 50 lakh (US$60,000).[citation needed]

Unique rules and variations

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The following rule modifications to the T10 format are in effect in ISPL matches:[13][14][15]

  • Powerplay rules: There is a mandatory powerplay for the first two overs of each innings, and then the batting team may elect to take a one-over 'batting powerplay' between the third and ninth over. During the mandatory powerplay, only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle, while three fielders are allowed outside of the circle in the batting powerplay.
  • Tip-Top Toss: Instead of a coin toss, the following procedure is used: initially, the two team captains stand opposite each other, and then walk in a straight line towards each other, with each step required to be from heel-to-toe. The team captain who is able to step on top of the other team captain's foot wins the toss.[16][17]
  • 9 Street Runs: If the ball is struck out of the field and lands among the spectating audience, nine runs are scored rather than six.
  • 50-50 Over: The bowling team's captain has to pick a minimum of five bowlers from his playing XI, any one of whom can be challenged by the batting team to bowl one '50-50 Over'.[18] In the 50-50 over, the batting team states the minimum number of runs they believe they will score in the next over; the number chosen must be at least 16. If the batting team successfully scores this minimum number of runs, 150% of the runs that they scored in the 50-50 Over will be added to their final match score. (e.g. scoring 18 runs in the over results in a total of 27 runs being added to the final score of the batting team as a result of the over.) However, if the batting team fails, only 50% of the runs scored during the 50-50 Over are added to their final match score.[19][17]
  • Tape-Ball Over: While the majority of the match is played with a tennis ball, two overs in each innings have to be bowled with a tape ball.[17] However, a tape ball cannot be used for a 50-50 Over.
  • Playing XI: All players are divided into one of five zones that they were sold from: North, South, East, West and Central. Every squad in the ISPL can have a maximum of 16 players, with the playing XI having to include one player from each of the North, South, East, West and Central zones, as well as at least one U-19 player.
  • Substitutions: Each team can pick two substitutes during a match; an injured player can only be replaced by a player who went unsold from the same zone.

Teams

[edit]
The 6 ISPL teams in the cities they are based in

A bid of 1,165 crore (US$140 million) was made for the six teams,[20] with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar having the highest bid of 251 crore (US$30 million) for the Srinagar based team.[21]

Team City State Owner(s)[22]
Bangalore Strikers Bengaluru Karnataka Hrithik Roshan
Chennai Singams Chennai Tamil Nadu Suriya
Falcon Risers Hyderabad Hyderabad Telangana Ram Charan
Tigers of Kolkata Kolkata West Bengal Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor Khan[23]
Majhi Mumbai Mumbai Maharashtra Amitabh Bachchan
Srinagar Ke Veer Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir Akshay Kumar

Seasons and results

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Season Venue Final Player of the series
Winners Result Runners-up
2024 Dadoji Kondadev Stadium, Maharashtra Tigers of Kolkata
60/0 (7.4 overs)
Won by 10 wickets[citation needed] Majhi Mumbai
58/9 (10 overs)
2025

Broadcasting

[edit]

Sony Sports Network is the broadcasting partner of the league, while SonyLIV is the digital streaming partner.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Indian Street Premier League: Breaking Socioeconomic Barriers With Tennis Ball Cricket". Forbes India. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Sachin Tendulkar Unveils Indian Street Premier League". www.india.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ Farooqui, Javed (14 January 2024). "Sachin Tendulkar invests in Indian Street Premier League". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  4. ^ Staff, SportsTiger (29 February 2024). "ISPL T-10 2024: Schedule, Teams, and More". SportsTiger. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Bangalore Strikers ISPL 2024 Squad: Complete List of Players, Money Spent, Biggest Buys". MyKhel.
  6. ^ "ISPL Season 2: Indian Street Premier League 2025 Date and Schedule, How to Register for Trials, New Rules". myKhel.
  7. ^ Farooqui, Javed (15 March 2024). "Tendulkar-backed ISPL to launch Middle East edition". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Indian Street Premier League set for season 2, new innovative features added". India Today. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  9. ^ K, Mathew. "ISPL T10 2024 Players Auction Set for 25th February: All you need to know about the league". www.sky247.net. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  10. ^ Tomar, Payal (26 February 2024). "ISPL: All you need to know about the inaugural Auction of Indian Street Premier League". Inside Sport India. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  11. ^ "ISPL 2024 Most Expensive Players: Top 10 Auction Buys of Indian Street Premier League". MyKhel.
  12. ^ The SportsGrail (26 February 2024). "Indian Street Premier (ISPL) T10 2024 all teams squad and auction full sold players list price". The SportsGrail. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  13. ^ "ISPL Rules and Regulations: Know About Indian Street Premier League T10 Cricket Tournament Format | 🏏 LatestLY". LatestLY. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  14. ^ "ISPL Rules: The Unique Rules and Regulations of Indian Street Premier League - Explained". myKhel.
  15. ^ The SportsGrail (7 March 2024). "Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) rules and regulations and tournament format explained". The SportsGrail. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  16. ^ Sharma, Arjun (6 March 2024). "WATCH: ISPL introduces one-of-a-kind Tip-Top toss in cricket". SportsTiger. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "ISPL Rules: The Unique Rules and Regulations of Indian Street Premier League - Explained". myKhel.
  18. ^ "ISPL Rules and Regulations: Know About Indian Street Premier League T10 Cricket Tournament Format | 🏏 LatestLY". LatestLY. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  19. ^ The SportsGrail (7 March 2024). "Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) rules and regulations and tournament format explained". The SportsGrail. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Indian Street Premier league co-owners bid a record Rs 1,165 cr for six city teams". The Economic Times. 31 January 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  21. ^ Webdunia. "Indian Street Premier League receives Rs 1165 cr bid, Akshay Kumar's Team Srinagar garners highest bid of Rs 251 crore". Webdunia. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  22. ^ "What is the ISPL? Indian Street Premier League format, teams and owners detailed | Sporting News India". www.sportingnews.com. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  23. ^ Staff, Entrepreneur (10 February 2024). "Indian Street Premier League Announces Saif Ali Khan And Kareena Kapoor Khan As Owners Of Kolkata Team". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Sony Pictures bags exclusive media rights for Indian Street Premier League's debut season". afaqs!. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.