IPL: All you need to know

Some of world cricket's most exciting Twenty20 players will be involved in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League.

The tournament has been expanded to ten teams in 2022 and here is all you need to know about the IPL:

What is the Indian Premier League?

The Indian Premier League has become the world's premier Twenty20 franchise competition since its inaugural season in 2008.

Twenty20 cricket is a fast-paced format of the game in which opposing teams bat for 20 overs. Each IPL franchise is permitted to select a maximum of four overseas stars in its playing 11 and the rest of the team must be made up of Indian players.

When does the Indian Premier League start?

The 2022 Indian Premier League begins on 26th March and is scheduled to run until the final on 29th May.

Where is the Indian Premier League being held?

The 2022 Indian Premier League features 70 league-stage matches which will be held across four venues: the Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium, which are all in Mumbai, and the MCA International Stadium in Pune.

Is the Indian Premier League on TV?

Every match of this season's Indian Premier League will be available to watch on Sky Sports.

Who won the Indian Premier League in 2021?

The 2021 Indian Premier League was won by Chennai Super Kings, who defeated Kolkata KR by 27 runs in October's final in Dubai.

Chennai's South African star Faf du Plessis was named man of the match for his innings of 86 in the final and RC Bangalore bowler Harshal Patel, who took 32 wickets, was the player of the tournament.

Who are the favourites for the Indian Premier League?

Mumbai Indians are 9/2 to win the 2022 Indian Premier League. Delhi Capitals are 11/2 with RC Bangalore 6/1 and Punjab Kings 13/2 while Chennai Super Kings are 8/1 to retain their title.

Mumbai, led by India captain Rohit Sharma, are the most successful team in IPL history, winning five titles. Chennai have lifted the trophy four times and have also finished as runners-up on five occasions.

How does the Indian Premier League work?

Two new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, have joined the Indian Premier League this season and the ten teams have been divided into two virtual groups as part of a new format.

Each IPL team will play 14 games in the league stage of the tournament: two against every other franchise in its group, two against one team randomly selected from the other group, and one against each of the other four sides in the other group.

Group A features Mumbai Indians, Kolkata KR, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, while Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, RC Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans are in Group B.

The teams who finish in the top four of the overall league table will progress to the end-of-season playoffs.

What is the Indian Premier League auction?

Each team who participated in the 2021 Indian Premier League were able to retain four of their players, but the rest of this season's squads were decided in a player auction which took place in February.

England all-rounder Liam Livingstone was the most expensive overseas player at the auction, signing for Punjab Kings on a deal worth $1.5m, and India wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan joined Mumbai Indians for $2m.

India batter Shreyas Iyer ($1.62m) moved from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata KR, where he will captain the side, and Faf du Plessis, the hero of Chennai's final victory last year, is set to skipper RC Bangalore this season.