r/ipl

Idk how some people really dismiss this era of IPL but these years were very fantastic for IPL imo and were our only great memory in such a dire state of time where the world was suffering with pandemic and quarantine and quality cricket was our one of the very few sources of enjoyment.

It's not just the emotional factor involved in it but also that somehow IPL felt like IPL and we were watching a great balance between bat and ball happening. Bowlers were getting a decent amount of assist specially spinners and pacers with proper variations thanks to the slow nature of the UAE tracks. I also remember even in Sharjah which is like one of the tiniest grounds the bowlers had cracked the code after batters dominated it for first 4-5 games due to short boundaries but the surface acted up and even 150-160 felt like proper grindwork there. 2020 IPL simply felt so good and it did not make me die of boredom I was glad it happened better late than never and it was worth it.

2021 was yet another great start and this time even Indian tracks gave great balance like the one in UAE in 2020 it was until the first half where IPL got postponed again and we were back to the rank turners of UAE months later. It was another success for IPL perhaps although sometimes there were some tossia influences coming out which did not effect IPL but it did effect T20WC for sure.

2022 IPL saw a bit of rise in the average scores but can't blame it if the batters actually bat well enough to earn those runs, Maharashtrian tracks in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Pune provided a lot of sporting tracks, none of it being too bowler friendly nor being too batter friendly in nature at consistent rate unlike UAE where it was slightly bowler friendly.

I think this era was the last goated era of IPL after which in 2023 it took a bit of different direction, I still like IPL as much as anyone else but it has felt like going in favour of batters, impact player wasn't that impressive albeit being a strategic tool for teams. 2023 though still had some crazy rank turners like Ekana and Kotla they were acting up in the second half of the game sometimes and even in 2024 they atleast saved some balanced tracks for playoff games but 2025-26 seasons have mostly been played in glass tracks including playoffs.

Last IPL season I truly liked was 2024 itself though because KKR won that trophy and the batting was good irrespective of the pitches because it was the first time batters played hyper aggressively and it felt abnormal for that year to have this much intent change literally from the start of tournament but from there in future seasons it just felt like a habit and standards incredibly dropped due to close to no variation in pitches. Rest two I liked but not much, not just because they were bad years for my favourite teams but the games felt one sided, atleast RCB broke their streak though lol.

Manchester Super Giants: The Hundred 2026

Dubai Capitals: ILT20 2025

Saint Lucia Kings: CPL 2024

I know that these tournaments are not comparable to IPL. But it's good to see every current franchise getting a taste of winning a trophy.

Now that their jinx is broken hoping to see these teams win their IPL trophies soon!

As kuldeep is traded to lsg, even lsg will have a player in cwc 2027 squad.

Take a look of ipl teams who could have their players in cwc 27 squad. p means only a possibility -->

Gt - gill, siraj, sundar, prasidh, gurnoor(p)

Dc - kl rahul, axar

Mi - bumrah, rohit (p)

Pbks - s Iyer, arshdeep

Srh - i kishan, nk reddy

Rr - jaiswal, jurel (p), jadeja (p)

Rcb - v Kohli

Lsg - K yadav, p yadav (p)

Kkr - H Rana

Idk about hardik

Csk got sanju, gaikwad. Who are out of the plan, at least for now.

If he is available for ipl 2027 then in my opinion, SRH have strongest chance getting him as they can release Livingstone and 2 more youngsters and they will have 12 cr. Amount to their purse. Which is a decent amount entering into mini auction. But the question is will SRH go for him as their 4 overseas are already fixed. Head, klassen, Cummins and malinga. And there is a Aussie captain in srh camp too. So SRH have the strongest chance to get him in mini auction but I don't see him going there. Might be LSG or MI? (if they release big stars). What's your opinion?

I mean Gill did everything he could to lead this franchise even after a major drawback and managed to reach playoffs 2 out of 3 time with mediocre team on paper. Management did the only right thing about not letting pandya in as captain. Also gill managed with lower paycheck so that GT can keep rashid so we gotta back him the most.

Also this is when GT needs the same skillset that pandya has (arguably one of the best in india) and still taking this decision shows GT is thinking long term with Gill.