Srinagar: The Chairmain IPL Arun Dhumal has said that IPL is best league in the World and other T20 competitions doesn’t even come close to it.
The IPL, with an estimated brand value of $8.4 billion, continues to attract the world’s top players.
However, with lucrative leagues starting up in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa this year, while Major League Cricket gets underway in the United States next month, IPL Chairmain was asked by Reuters about the competition poses by those leagues.
“Even if players now have more choice where to take their talent than ever before, Dhumal was confident the IPL would retain its primacy in franchise cricket. “We don’t see anyone else as our competition, there is none even close to IPL,” he told Reuters by telephone. “Our best wishes to all the boards starting their own T20 leagues, but I don’t think any of them can be a threat to IPL.”
Jio Cinema, in a statement on Wednesday, said more than 120 million unique viewers had tuned in to watch Chennai Super Kings beat Gujarat Titans in a dramatic final, with a peak concurrency of 32.1 million.
“It has been a phenomenal success, and largely because of the sheer competitiveness of this year’s tournament,” Dhumal added. “Most of the matches went down to the wire and there were plenty of last-over thrillers. We got a phenomenal response from the fans. Our viewership grew manifold and our broadcast and digital partners both are excited.”
Dhumal said the IPL would remain a 10-team event but the number of matches, currently 74 per season, might go up to 94 if it gets a bigger window in the calendar prepared by the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).