An experienced groundsman marking a cricket crease before play with measuring tools
Match preparation before a league fixture — the unseen craft behind every IPL evening.

What the IPL is

The Indian Premier League is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested by ten franchise teams representing different Indian cities. The league runs annually, typically from late March to late May, and is organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Format

Each of the ten franchises plays the other nine twice in the league stage — once at home, once away — for a total of 18 league-stage matches per side. The top four teams on the points table qualify for the playoffs.

Playoffs

Points table

Teams earn 2 points for a win, 0 for a loss, 1 for a no-result. Net Run Rate (NRR) is the tie-breaker: a team’s NRR is calculated as the difference between their run rate per over scored and the run rate per over conceded, across all completed matches.

Auction and retention

Each franchise has a fixed purse (currently ₹120 crore for 2026, ₹146 crore for 2027) and a maximum squad size of 25 players. Franchises may retain a number of players from their previous squad before the auction; the remainder are released into the auction pool. The Right To Match (RTM) card allows a franchise to match the highest bid for a released player and re-acquire them.

Fantasy cricket

Fantasy cricket is a game of skill in which users build a virtual team of 11 players within a fixed salary cap (100 credits). Points are awarded for runs, wickets, catches and milestones; the user with the most points wins the contest. ComeliveIPL publishes editorial coverage of fantasy cricket but is not itself a contest operator. See /how-to-play/ for a beginner’s walkthrough.

State eligibility

Paid fantasy contests are restricted in six Indian states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Telangana, Sikkim and Nagaland. Free practice contests remain available nationwide. See /is-legal/ for the full state-by-state guide.