IPL 2023: What is ‘Sweet 16’ season bringing with itself?

Sixteen
is
considered
as
a
very
crucial
age
in
the
life
of
a
human.
You
have
grown
up
but
still
not
an
adult,
people
start
to
have
expectations
from
you
and
one
is
expected
to
deliver
on
those
expectations.
Also,
age
drives
a
person
to
explore
different
dimensions
of
life.

With
abundance
of
opportunity
on
offer
it
also
becomes
important
to
act
and
choose
wisely.
One
wrong
step
can
mess
up
with
the
entire
foundation
which
has
been
laid
out
in
the
past
15
years.
The
‘Sweet
16’ phase
is
very
much
the
make
and
break
year
in
one’s
life.

The
same
goes
on
with
the
IPL
16
which
kicks
off
with
the
GT
vs
CSK
match
on
Friday,
March
31.
The
‘pocket-money’
of
the
players
has
increased
leaps
and
bounds.
A
24-year-Sam
Curran
has
been
acquired
by
Punjab
Kings
(PBKS)
at
a
whopping
amount
of
Rs
18.50
crore.

An
adolescent
kid
at
sixteen
experiences
a
lot
of
changes
in
and
around
him.
The
same
is
transpiring
with
the
IPL
where
a
bunch
of
new
rules
will
be
experimented
for
the
first
time
in
the
league.
The
team
sheets
will
be
exchanged
by
the
captains
after
and
not
before
the
toss
now.

The
batters
can
review
the
no-ball
and
wide-call
calls
from
the
umpires.
The
Impact
Player
rule
will
see
teams
announcing
four
more
who
can
replace
a
player
in
the
playing
XI
at
any
point
in
the
match.
Someone
like
Ricky
Ponting
has
reckoned
that
the
rule
will
render
all-rounders
less
important.

At
16,
kids
see
their
friends
change
paths
by
joining
a
different
school/college
or
by
shifting
to
a
different
city.
Likewise,
the
IPL
16
will
witness
some
massive
changes
in
the
ten
teams.
Former
Sunrisers
Hyderabad
(SRH)
captain
Kane
Williamson
will
play
under
the
GT
outfit,
while
former
Punjab
Kings
(PBKS)
skipper
Mayank
Agarwal
will
don
the
orange
SRH
outfit.

How
the
world
sees
the
IPL
has
also
changed
now.
The
per
match
value
of
IPL
has
made
more
than
a
100
per
cent
jump
from
previous
Rs
54.5
crore
to
above
Rs
114
crore
(approx).
Globally,
the
per
match
value
of
IPL
is
second
only
to
NFL
where
every
match
is
worth
140
crore
approximately.

Like
a
16-year-old
teenager
starts
hanging
around
multiple
groups,
the
IPL
broadcasting
rights
is
also
not
restricted
to
a
single
player.
Star
Sports
will
be
telecasting
the
match
on
TV,
while
Viacom
18’s
JioCinema
will
livestream
the
glittery
IPL
matches
on
digital
space.

Each
‘group’ would
try
hard
to
prove
themselves
better
and
friendlier
than
the
other
one.
Star
Sports
have
introduced
interactive
features
like
‘Real-time
Highlights’,
‘Key
Moments’,
and
‘Comprehensive
Statistics’
for
the
fans.
JioCinema
has
given
the
option
to
choose
the
best
camera
angle
to
the
fans.

The
world
is
at
the
feet
of
‘Sweet
16’ IPL
and
the
guardians
(BCCI)
will
now
need
to
be
more
careful
than
ever
in
nurturing
the
billion-dollar
prodigy.