IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals to face-off in 1000th game of cash-rich league

The Super Sunday on April 30 in IPL 2023 is going to get even grander as the day will feature the 1000^th game ever of the T20 extravaganza. Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals will be the two teams going against each other in the historic game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

The first-ever game of IPL was played on 18^th April 2008 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. IPL is currently in its 16^th edition, and over the last 15 years, the league has grown leaps and bounds and completely changed the face of cricket globally.

In 2022, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) sold the media rights of IPL for a whopping INR 48,390 crore, making it the second most valuable sporting league in the world after the National Football League (NFL) of the USA.

Over the years, the growth of IPL has benefitted the players as well; during the first season, MS Dhoni was the most expensive player, getting sold for a whopping $1.5 million. The salaries of the players have now grown exponentially as Sam Curran became the most expensive player in the history of the league, getting sold for a mammoth price of INR 18.5 crore in the 2022 mini-auction.

Mumbai Indians are the most successful IPL team

Seeing the growth of IPL, several domestic T20 leagues have sprung up all over the world as the world of cricket is being revolutionised at a great pace. IPL serves as the platform for several unknown players to get recognition for their talent all over the world. The tournament has even served as the pathway to break into the Indian cricket team for several players.

Mumbai Indians are the most successful franchise of the cash-rich league, having won the title five times. They are closely followed by Chennai Super Kings, who have four IPL titles to their name. Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad (then Deccan Chargers) have also won the coveted trophy twice, while Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals have one title each to their name.