The Big Bash League and the IPL: What’s the Difference?

The world’s most popular T20 cricket league, IPL was introduced in 2008 by the BCCI which became instant success and fans help this cash-rich league to become most watched cricket event. Indian Premier League has all elements that require for entertainment like big cricketers, glamour, and millions of dollars. After the success of IPL, few other cricket boards also started their own version of T20 franchise leagues like the Big Bash League (BBL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL). These leagues differ in many ways, let’s analyze some differences between BBL and IPL.

The popularity of the tournament A crowd of 80,883 turned up at the MCG for the Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades this year which is a huge step for the future of BBL. BBL is now 9th most watched sports league in the world while IPL is 6th most watched. BBL has an average attendance of 28,279 while IPL has an average attendance of 31,750.

A crowd of 80,883 turned up at the MCG for the Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades this year which is a huge step for the future of BBL. BBL is now 9th most watched sports league in the world while IPL is 6th most watched. BBL has an average attendance of 28,279 while IPL has an average attendance of 31,750.

Prize money IPL has upper hand if we compare BBL and IPL. The prize money of IPL 2017 was Rs 15 Cr while for BBL it was Rs 5.7 Cr (converted).

IPL has upper hand if we compare BBL and IPL. The prize money of IPL 2017 was Rs 15 Cr while for BBL it was Rs 5.7 Cr (converted).

Quality Players

Being the most watched cricket league offers you some advantages and one of the advantages is that it attracts quality players from different countries. IPL features players from every country (except Pakistan) while BBL allows only two overseas players per team which leads to exclusion of some quality players. Also, BCCI does not allow Indian players to take part in BBL which is a big negative point for BBL. The lack of South African and Indian superstars will always keep the BBL in the mighty shadows of the IPL.

Ground Size IPL is organized in many stadiums, some of which, have large boundaries so it becomes hard to hit sixes in these grounds while some grounds has very small boundaries. This leads to a situation where a team which scored 200 plus runs on a small ground couldn’t score 120 runs when they played on a big ground. In Australia, most of the grounds are equal sized. This helps to have even contests.

IPL is organized in many stadiums, some of which, have large boundaries so it becomes hard to hit sixes in these grounds while some grounds has very small boundaries. This leads to a situation where a team which scored 200 plus runs on a small ground couldn’t score 120 runs when they played on a big ground. In Australia, most of the grounds are equal sized. This helps to have even contests.

Technologies involved

You may all know the technologies used in IPL such as different camera angles, camera on helmets and umpires, the 3-dimensional hologram and Zing Wicket System, which has a sensor in the bails that determines within one-thousandth of a second when the wicket is broken but what you don’t know is that these all tech were used by BBL first. BBL is one step ahead in using new technologies.

Scheduling problem

Due to the involvement of many big players, IPL always struggles with the scheduling. Most of the players are called by their board to play international games and this leads to squad problems for IPL teams. On the other hand, BBL does not involve many big players so it can be played concurrently with international matches.