For the IPL to have begun in a nation where the cricket board has scoff at the very idea of T20 illustrates that the story of the tournament's triumph is a parable of the powerful combination of serendipity and opportunity.

Since 2008, a lot of prominent cricketers across the world have taken their time away from national and international cricket in order to take part during the Indian Premier League (IPL) which usually takes place in the two months between March through May. In the short term, during this time , the IPL was the center of the cricketing world's eyes throughout the world. As we look back, though it may seem inevitable that cricket's viewership would require a smaller format, it wasn't really clear at the time. It's actually amazing today that those who controlled the BCCI and India were completely uninterested in the appeal of T20 initially.

The primary reason for the popularity of the ipl champions list and T20 format, as it has been with a number of commercial goods, is due to timing. When the millennium began, millennium, the final source of support for the traditional first-class game in England had started witnessing lower participation rates. Especially, the younger generation were choosing to switch to different sports, instead of cricket. The marketing manager at the ECB, Stuart Robertson, suggested considering a compressed format which was more in tune to current requirements of time. The format was adopted a year later, despite some opposition from the county chairmen, and on the heels of some last-over slogging the format received the midwife .

International cricket was not taking the format seriously . In fact, the first T20 international had hilarious scenes. It also featured mock red cards for Glenn McGrath for impersonating the notorious underarm experience.

In the last few years, many countries had participated in their very first T20 game, which drew the attention of both incredulity from their followers. India was among the last "big" nations that played its first T20 game. But its home version was a damp shquib . "T20? Why not ten-ten , five-five or even one?" thundered Niranjan Shah in the 2006 International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting. He then sounded the alarm, declaring that India will not play the format. The rival Indian Cricket League, which gained momentum however, was quickly thrown out of business after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

While at the same time it was apparent that the ODI format was slowed down. Australia were sleepwalking to their third consecutive World Cup and was the standout team in a format that left little to be desired; the various attempts of the ICC to bring the game to life (supersub, superseries, experimenting on field restrictions and the list goes on) were unable to hit the right spot. India, quite disastrously, got knocked out in the group stage, which made the tournament less appealing to the various parties. The bizarre 2007. World Cup final served as the perfect example of everything that went wrong with the over-milked cash cow that was the ODI format.

In this situation when the T20 format was able to capture the public's imagination. What is the reason, it's difficult to imagine that India were not too keen about putting on a team the inaugural World T20 and had to be subtly coerced into doing so by former ICC vice-president Ehsan Mani. India did not want to send a team that smelt of the displeasure of BCCI had of the new format . The team, headed by an untrained young greenhorn MS Dhoni, did not feature the batting superstars .

Because the tournament does not interfere with the existing domestic structures of most cricketing nations, the presence among the top players has been almost assured. It is no surprise that the West Indies players are some of the most sought-after T20 stars and the disputes between board and players will surely aid the IPL's cause. This is also why there is a love-hate relationship that exists between English established cricket club and IPL players. English players have had to pick ipl winners list over domestic commitments , or passed over entirely. Thus did the IPL make the perfect storm to become the most unique league in cricket.