IPL @ 'Sweet 16': 5 Interesting Facts About India's Cricket Extravaganza

As the Indian Premier League is all set to celebrate its 16th birthday today (April 18), let's take a look at top five interesting facts about this cricket extravaganza:

1. Sachin and tryst with records: From 2008-2015, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was the only Indian to have won IPL's coveted 'Most Valuable player' award. He won it in 2010 for scoring 618 runs.

2. Virat Kohli, the go-getter: From forging winning partnerships to amassing runs, Kohli has done it all. Till date, he remains the highest run-scorer in a single season in the history of IPL with an incredible 973 runs including four hundreds in 2016. Like a true royal, he has never changed his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore since it started in 2008.

3. Dhoni, the true 'thala' of CSK: There are teams and then there are captains who lead them. Chennai Super Kings' MS Dhoni, true to his moniker 'thala', is a 'leader' by nature who has led his team to five IPL victories. He also has the longest stint as a single IPL team's captain, from its inception till the latest season.

4. "Show me the money", IPL's biggest numbers: The pomp and glamour of India's most prestigious cricket league is not for the faint-hearted. If you thought the deals offered to players aren't big enough, there is another channel where the money is freely flowing -- IPL broadcast rights. For the 2023-2027 seasons, Viacom18 has purchased IPL digital rights for an unbelievable Rs 23758 crores. The Star network didn't fall behind either and purchased the TV rights of IPL for a no lesser sum of Rs 23575 crores. In total, the IPL media rights were sold for nearly a whopping Rs 50 crore!

5. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride", RCB and its IPL jinx: For Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL dreams are yet to come to fruition despite being one of the core founding teams of the tournament. It has consistently had star players and has won individual matches time and again. It is touted to be one of the most successful IPL teams, yet the cup dream seems to be a distant one still. It has made it to the IPL finals on three occassions, but as fate may have it, the team had to settle for runners-up. Yet, every time RCB reaches a final, its fans chant: "Ee saala cup nammade" (This year, the cup is ours).