Every year, the Indian Premier League tournament sweeps through the country, with stadiums exhibiting unique design elements and carving their distinct identities.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, home to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), features a distinctive false ceiling equipped with LED bars, and solar panels.
Earlier, the stadium boasted big logos on its roof with lighting effects. They were recently replaced as other stadiums began to build similar ceilings.
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, housing the Mumbai Indians (MI), uses a vibrant blue colour palette and dynamic LED lighting to give a blue shade to everything. Anuj Prabhu, 26, an ardent cricket lover who has been visiting the stadium for a decade, says the design has been going up a notch every year.
A spokesperson for DNA Entertainment Networks, the team that manages multiple things including design factors for several IPL franchises, says stadium design for the IPL is a “creative competition”. It pushes every team to innovate every season.
“Earlier, there used to be very few spots in the stadium to design, but now everything from the parking to the gates and the stands is designed according to the team, with their logos and colours,” he says.
Even the team buses have evolved over the years. Initially, they sported just the logos of the teams. These were replaced by pictures or caricatures of the players later.
“Earlier, only the hospitality seats were painted blue, but now, before the season, all are repainted. This year, blue halogen lights have also been added. These minimal changes ensure that on game day, it appears as if the neighbouring blue Arabian Sea has erupted in the stadium,” Prabhu says.
Fashion designer Manoviraj Khosla says colours are intrinsic to creating the identity and vibe. He adds, “Colour and design are essential for any team in any sport now, be it football, cricket, or Formula 1, to create an identity that reflects in their jerseys, merchandise, decor, lounge….”
Rajesh Menon, vice president and head of RCB, says his team works throughout the year to study visual trends and integrate them into their overarching visual theme. Since the inception of IPL in 2008, RCB had donned a red jersey with a logo similar to that of a lion. In 2011, the team introduced a jersey with patches of blue on both sides, which transformed into deep blue and emerged as a secondary colour to red. However, in 2024, the deep blue and black were replaced by a brighter blue.
Apart from the bold hues, another significant change is the addition of multiple high-definition screens across the stadium. The big screens constantly display the highlights, statistics, umpire reviews, player introductions and replays. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, home to the Gujarat Titans (GT), boasts two giant screens along with several digital displays across the stadium. Similarly, RCB’s home ground is known for smaller screens that display content throughout the game.
On April 23, in the game between CSK and LSG, DJ Zen played the entry theme from Thalapathy Vijay’s movie, ‘Master,’ for Ravindra Jadeja, since he has got the nickname of Thalapathy from fans. Many fans took to social media to appreciate him for playing ‘Kaathirunthu kaathirunthu’, an old Tamil song meaning ‘time just flew waiting for you’ as the spectators waited for Dhoni to come out to bat. Such moments provide a cinematic touch to important moments in the game.
Along with the visual element, the IPL experience is big on its audio element, from its catchy theme songs like ‘Jumping zapak’, ‘Come on bulava aaya hai’ and ‘India ka tyohar’ to the most iconic trumpet sound, which continues to garner a massive cheer even after a decade of its release. Songs and music are an integral part of the tournament since its inception, with the grand openings and closing ceremonies. However, since last year, cinematic entries for famous players, portraying them as larger-than-life figures, have emerged as the newest addition.
“It is essential to be relatable with the spectators so it strikes a chord with the people. For instance, the famous Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa is usually known as D Boss, so in a recent game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when Dinesh Kartik (often called DK) was close to a century, I called the audience to start cheering DK Boss and the otherwise silent crowd responded with a roar,” says MJ Rakesh, who hosts for RCB when it plays at home and has hosted multiple international sporting events.
Similarly, DJ Ravish, who was with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), gives local food references to connect better with the people. “In losing conditions, to cheer up the crowd, I used to play Rajasthani songs and raise slogans like, ‘Daal baati choorma, Rajasthan hai soorma’ or ‘Ground hai gol, halla bol halla bol’.”
Every ground now has an entertainment stage that manages the audio and visual and showcases multiple performances. Interestingly, even these stages are designed according to the teams; for instance, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a knight-themed stage. Similarly, the CSK stage has a whistle on top of it, which aligns with their ‘whistle podu’ tagline. Live performances help turn each game into a celebratory event, says Rakesh, who has been with the IPL since its inception. He says sportainment is in its infancy in India, and entertainers enhance the game. “Our goal is that, irrespective of the result, the audience goes home with an energising experience."
Ubiquitous blue
Despite the various design advancements, fans complained this season that most franchises this year have chosen different shades of blue as their jersey colour, making them indistinguishable.
Barring the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, eight out of 10 had elements of blue in their jersey. Manoviraj Khosla says, “Franchises need to put their foot down and choose different colours to create distinct identities.”
The reason for the change could be how the colours look on the TV screen. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) shifted to an electric pink colour, a darker version of their earlier bubblegum pink jerseys, in 2022. The new jersey has some blue, too.