The Indian Premier League is killing it. Everyone had high hopes for the tournament, but there were many risks. It’s a first of its kind for cricket, and it was organised in just over six months, despite being a logistically bigger tournament than the cricket world cup. Added to that, India has never experienced city loyalty/rivalry before (the skeptics said Indian fans are too used to supporting only the national team), which makes the success to date all the more remarkable.

The reason for me being so bullish? Well, I have a lot of anecdotal evidence to the impact its having (it’s on all the Indian tv channels all the time at home), the games are all near sellouts despite it being in the first half of the tournament, the Facebook game is addictive and busy, and I just read this post by Adam Rabiner over on the Live Current blog.

To quote from the Economic Times:

“The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches have virtually taken the life out of cinema theatres and television programmes….

Star Plus sources said the fresh Television Audience Measurement (TAM) ratings are expected in a day or two. However, till April 22, the IPL dominated the TAM ratings.”

And, I also just had the photo editor from the WSJ contact me for photos, you may even hear about it in the US!

And hey, the IPL has its very own Moneyball-esque Oakland Athletics: The Rajasthan Royals.

Read here for Cricinfo’s view.

Posted on May 1