Rohan MathawanWhat Makes a Team IPL Champion?
Indian Premier League or in short the IPL is one of the most unpredictable leagues out there with different and unique outcomes every year. Every year one of the eight teams will grab the IPL trophy and only one team was able to defend the title once.
That is how the situations keep changing when it comes to IPL. Every team in IPL has the best world-class players in it along with the upcoming young talent. Predicting which of these teams will win the trophy for that particular year is almost impossible. However, there are some statistics, studies which will help in predicting the factors that are capable of making a team champion.
Spending More Money Got the Trophy!
IPL is the costliest league in this world where some players earn 1M USD per year, and some earn 2M USD too. The competition on who spends more on their teams has also raised lately.
However, one thing that everyone has to remember that not every time the most expensive squad won the trophy. The first IPL winner was Rajasthan Royal, the least costly team and that win for the team was unexpected too. So, spending more money on the squad doesn’t necessarily bring IPL cup home.
That doesn’t mean teams should hold their purchases. The defending champions this year- Mumbai Indians has the most expensive squad. The total spending on this squad is $11,262,600, which is the highest ever in IPL.
This also means that you can put a line through the Delhi Capitals. D.C. is the only team that doesn’t reach the finale.
Delhi Capitals squad cost is $9,199,000 which has put them at the bottom of the table.
Whom you have to spend?
Most of the champion players take up the big chunk of the budget and now the companies have to decide where to cut the costs. Companies need to determine where they have to spend money. Paying eligible players a good amount can break or make the franchise. In 11 out of 12 seasons till this year, the teams that had an Indian player as the highest-paid ones won the trophy—only once Deccan Chargers with a foreign player as highest-paid one has bagged it.
If we apply the same rule for 2020 teams, three teams are playing big bucks for foreign players-
- Kolkata Knight Riders- $2.2M for Pat Cummins, Aussie pacer
- Rajasthan Royal- $1.8M for Ben Stokes, England Player
- Sun Risers Hyderabad- $1.7M for Australian Skipper David Warner
International Stars
IPL isn’t about spending big; it is about having a team which is well balanced and managed adequately with international standards.
Amongst the 12 champions till 2019, 11 of the winners had at the least 15 players who got capped at international level. The only team that was an exemption was Rajasthan Royals in 2008.
If we check this parameter, then we can rule out Kings XII Punjab, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Experience of Youth
Now, Betway has ensure to understand every team needs to strike a balance between these two. Any team with only young players or only elderly players won’t be able to win the Championship. However, there is only one team that has one the Championship with an average age less than 25, and that again is Rajasthan Royals.
Applying this rule to 2020, we can rule out two teams- Chennai Super Kings which is lead by 39-year old M.S. Dhoni (the average age of this team is 3.11) and Delhi Capitals with an average age of less than 25.
So, who can win the Championship?
After checking the criteria, there is only one team that contains all the boxes, and that is – Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team has an expensive fourth squad with Virat Kohli as their captain. Virat is the best-paid player at $2.4M. They have 18 international players, and the average age is 29 years and two months.
Kohli has been in the team for all 12 seasons and gave his best. However, the team wasn’t able to win Championship at least once and remained as an underachiever in IPL tournament.
This team reached finals three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016. However, they lose three times as big players weren’t able to perform. Although the team ended up at the bottom place last year, they do have a strong team now and are fits into the criteria of being a winner.