5 reasons why CPL can match up to IPL

Tropical climate, a crisp format and raw talent. If we hadn’t heard of the T20 format before then these elements would surely seem to fit in the definition of how the game was meant to be played.

The Caribbean Premier League is in no way as big as the IPL or even the BBL but it’s certainly giving these big leagues some competition when it comes to entertainment and the quality of cricket on display. Commercial success aside, the CPL since its inception has focussed on delivering great value to its fans and that is why it now attracts global talent to its shores. From its humble beginnings in 2013, the league has grown from strength to strength in the last five years and made its presence felt all around the world.

There’s still a long way to go before the CPL can give some serious competition to the IPL but here are five reasons we think that the CPL is a worthy competitor and can, in fact, match up to the IPL's commercial and mass success.

#5 Fewer teams, crisper format

The CPL tournament format is unusual, to say the least. We know CPL is a territory based league and not a city based league and therefore all the six teams are stationed at a single location for four to six sequential matches. Once the tournament is done and dusted, the caravan moves to the next location for the next set of matches. Every team plays a total of 10 crisp games in the group stage to decide the semi final spots.

Since it’s a small league with just six teams, the group stage doesn’t seem bloated and thereby keeps the fans engaged throughout. Also, since all the teams play at the same location within a specific period of time, the travel time between cities is almost cut by a third. This, in turn, helps the players to recuperate and gives the fans a chance to interact with their stars in each cycle.