Forget the criticism and controversies, IPL is already among the top Indian brands in the world

Criticism and controversy apart, the Indian Premier League became bigger, stronger, writes The Times Of India, adding that the Indian Premier League, trending feverishly on Twitter the last two months, is now five years old and already among the top Indian brands in the world.

“It is a brand overseas professionals want to be part of, one that is being evaluated in the excess of $2 billion and is witnessing a fascinating city-based rivalry growing among participating franchises. Even with its restricted spending, the tournament would give properties like the English Premier League in the UK and the NBA in US a run for their money if one were to compare the players' weekly salaries over the competition period,”” adds TOI.

“From franchise owners to media buyers, brand wizards to analysts, experts from various walks are unanimous in their view that IPL's fifth edition, which ended with a breath-taking chase on Sunday, was a grand success. And it was not only about entertainment. The complete package is always welcome but the cricket was the real thing, the crowd-puller,” says the TOI report.

Meanwhile another report in The Times Of India says that spontaneous or stage-managed, but the outpouring of adulation that Kolkata laid out for its IPL-winning team has made it the season-ending debate of an eventful and controversial fifth edition.

“Kolkata Knight Riders, for long considered the IPL team lacking a local fan-base, found itself being carried on the collective shoulders of an over a lakh deliriously thankful Kolkatans on Tuesday. It was the coming of full circle of a fractious cycle. At inception, KKR was a team that was expected to instantly strike an emotional chord with the idol-worshipping, hero-chanting city. It quickly found itself divided in its loyalty for the home-grown cricketing hero and a megalomaniac film star team owner, and their inevitable ego clash.

Kolkata’s most recent coming-out party was being compared to the summer night in 1994, when similar droves emerged after Brazil won the World Cup,” adds the paper.

Unprecedented scenes of celebrations were witnessed in the city for four hours when the State Government, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Cricket Association of Bengal felicitated the Kolkata Knight Riders team members here on Tuesday, says a report in The Hindu.

On a hot and humid day, thousands of people braved the conditions to line up the roadside during the team's 90-minute journey from Hazra Crossing to Writers' Buildings and then to the Eden Gardens where a full house joined the celebration.

The entire team was present along with support staff, except for three foreign players — Sunil Narain of the West Indies, Brett Lee of Australia and Jacques Kallis of South Africa.