It’s been almost two decades since the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been running smoothly. But the league has undergone a few changes here and there.
One of them is the format of the league. With a few teams getting in and out, the league has had to change the format on a few occasions. The current format in use came into effect in the 2022 season.
So, how does the IPL format work?
To begin with, 10 teams play in the league as of now. Seven of the teams have been around since 2008, one joined in 2013, and two entered the fray in 2022.
The 10 teams, owned by big businesses and personalities, represent different cities or states in India. Here are the current IPL teams, along with their debut year and home venue.
| Team | Home Venue | Debut Year |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 2008 |
| Delhi Capitals (DC) | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | 2008 |
| Gujarat Titans (GT) | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 2022 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 2008 |
| Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | 2022 |
| Mumbai Indians (MI) | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 2008 |
| Punjab Kings (PBKS) | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur | 2008 |
| Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | 2008 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 2008 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad | 2013 |
Now that you know the teams, let’s understand how they play in the league.
The Format of the IPL
With 10 teams in the league, you’d think they play each other. Well, they do, but not against every team.
With a packed cricket calendar, the IPL can’t expand beyond its two-month window at the moment. Thus, this doesn’t allow the teams to play each other twice.
Hence, the IPL came up with a slightly different format in 2022. With the new format in place, teams still play 14 matches in the league stage.
But how?
The IPL divides the 10 teams into two virtual groups. Despite the two groups, teams play each other in the league. The only difference is they play a few teams twice and others once.
Let’s understand this with an example, shall we?
Consider the groups formed in the IPL 2025 season.
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai Indians |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| Rajasthan Royals | Gujarat Titans |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Delhi Capitals |
| Punjab Kings | Lucknow Super Giants |
Now, the Group A teams play twice against each other, while they face four teams from Group B once and a team in front of their name twice. This will be the exact opposite for Group B teams.
So CSK would play KKR, RR, RCB, and PBKS from Group A twice. They would also face MI twice, who are placed in Group B, while playing once against SRH, GT, DC, and LSG.
In this way, each team plays 14 league-stage matches, seven at home and as many at the opposition’s home venue. And that’s how a season consists of 74 matches.
Now, this was all about the league stage format. The league also has a playoff stage in place to determine the winner.
To give you an idea about the playoff format briefly, four of the 10 teams feature in the playoffs.
The table toppers and No. 2 teams first square off in Qualifier 1, while the No. 3 and No. 4 sides clash in Eliminator. The loser of Qualifier 1 gets another chance to make the final with a game against the Eliminator winner in Qualifier 2. And then the two Qualifier winners face each other in the final to decide the winner.
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