The 19th season of IPL is set to begin on the 28th of this month. Before that, every Indian’s excitement is at its peak. It is going to be the first year after IPL has turned to adulthood. The first match will see Royal Challengers Bangalore face Sunrisers Hyderabad. Amid all the excitement, BCCI had to face a bizarre development regarding a plea at the Karnataka High Court. A few months ago, a public interest litigation was filed in the Kerala High Court. It questioned whether the BCCI could use the name IPL or Indian Premier League. On Thursday the high court dismissed the plea.

What happened?

According to The Hindu, petitioner Ashiq Karoth had argued that it was illegal for the BCCI to use the IPL name “Indian Premier League” as it is not the official cricket tournament of the country, using Indian in the name of the IPL is illegal.

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The bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Shyam Kumar VM dismissed this petition. The court questioned the petitioner, asking why it suddenly occurred to him after so many years that the IPL is not the country's 'official' tournament! They dismissed the plea saying this plea has no merit and as such refused to entertain this kind of plea further.

IPL turns 19

The first edition of the IPL was held in 2008. Following the success of the T20 World Cup in 2007, the IPL began its journey. So far, 18 seasons of the IPL have been played. The most successful teams are the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. Kolkata Knight Riders are in second place. Apart from these three teams, no other team has won the IPL more than once. Royal Challengers Bangalore were the last champions.

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Until 2021, eight teams participated in the IPL, but in 2022 the number of teams increased to 10. Currently, the IPL is the richest cricket league in the world.