Indian Premier League (IPL) has been experiencing unprecedented growth and the valuation of franchises has reached record figures. The financial muscle of the league has been on the limelight lately with high profile bids on iconic franchises such as Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals. The Aditya Birla Group, The Times Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone reportedly purchased the Bengaluru franchise worth $1.78 billion with US based investor Kal Somani together with Ford and Walton family buying Rajasthan Royals worth $1.63 billion.
With this happening, one co-owner of Delhi Capitals, Parth Jindal, has dared to make a prognosis concerning the future of the league. In his view, every IPL franchise will be worth approximately 5 billion dollars in the next 10 years and will potentially increase or even triple the amount at present.
Jindal looked back on his investment history, how he bought a 50 percent stake in the now Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) in 2019 at 550 crore, a move that he had to explain his choice to make. Now a very rewarding move in the light of the current surge in valuations, he finds he has made it.
He credited the IPL to grow exponentially on a number of factors, specifically the historic media rights deal of 50,000 crore that he termed as a game changer to the league. He says that IPL is not only an essential aspect of media businesses but it is also an essential aspect of the brands that want to be seen in India since its huge following and the amount of business it can get.
Another important point that Jindal brought up is the launch of the Women Premier League, which is yet another milestone in the ecosystem of cricket. As the investments continue to rise, the fanbase grows, and the popularity of the IPL continues to rise worldwide, there are signs that it will change the economics of sports franchises in years to come.