How to Play

New to the IPL?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the world's biggest Twenty20 (T20) cricket league — the short, explosive format where each team bats for just 20 overs. Founded in 2008, it's played every year by city-based franchises (Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the rest) that sign the best players on the planet. In the league stage each team plays 14 matches; the top four go through to the playoffs and the final.

The goal

A perfect IPL league season is 14-0-0: all fourteen league games won, with no no-results and no losses. Your job is to draft an eleven that the simulator rates highly enough to go unbeaten. Almost nobody builds the perfect side — see how close you can get.

Step by step

1. Pick a team balance. Batting Heavy, Balanced, or Bowling Heavy. This sets the shape of your XI and the labels for each slot.
2. Choose a mode. Classic shows every player's stats and overall rating. Expert hides them — you pick on name and memory alone.
3. Spin the wheel. It lands on a random franchise + season — for example “Mumbai Indians 2011” or “Rajasthan Royals 2026”.
4. Draft one player from that exact squad. Each pick is slotted into the position where it fits best.
5. Repeat until all 11 slots are filled. You get 2 re-spins per game if you don't like a franchise-season.
6. Get your verdict. The simulator projects your record and gives you a tier — from Wooden Spoon all the way up to The Immortals.

How your team is rated

Every player-season has an overall rating (OVR) from 40–99, built from their real stats and era-normalised so a dominant 2009 season counts as highly as a dominant 2026 one. But raw OVR isn't everything: position fit matters. A genuine opener batting at the top is worth far more than a specialist bowler shoved into the top order. Your team rating is the average of each player's fit-adjusted score, minus penalties for an unbalanced side (no keeper, too few bowlers, and so on).

The tiers

• 14 wins — The Immortals (S): the perfect, unbeaten season.
• 12–13 — Champions (A): lifting the trophy.
• 10–11 — Contenders (B): in the playoff hunt.
• 7–9 — Mid-Table (C): flattering to deceive.
• 4–6 — Struggling (D): a long season.
• 0–3 — Wooden Spoon (F): back to the drawing board.

Want the finer points first? Learn how player ratings work or read the strategy guides.