In today’s cricket sports news, learn more about those vying for a position in the Indian Premier League are billion-dollar investment funds and NFL ownership groups. The returns are the attraction, not the sport. Meanwhile, Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stated on Thursday that India’s men’s and women’s national cricket teams will be paid the same appearance fee to represent their country. Lastly, Gill smashed his first century in the format to propel Punjab into the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a day after receiving a national call-up to India’s T20I team for their tour of New Zealand.
US Money Has Finds Indian Cricket
Original Source: American Money Has Discovered Indian Cricket
Gerry Cardinale has invested in Fenway Sports Group, the Yankees’ YES Network, and A.C. Milan after founding RedBird Capital Partners a decade ago. Alec Scheiner, one of his RedBird partners, was a Dallas Cowboys VP and Cleveland Browns GM.
Both men have seen billion-dollar companies. The sport with the most potential may surprise you.
Scheiner: “We weren’t cricket gurus when we started.” As we researched it, we found it resembled the NFL 20 years ago.
RedBird bought a 15% ownership in Rajasthan Royals for $37.5 million in June 2021. The league’s recent spending spree shows RedBird got a deal.
An I.P.L. expansion franchise sold for $940 million four months later. Eight months later, the league negotiated $6.2 billion in TV and digital broadcasting rights.
India’s top cricket competition, a closed league with 10 clubs, now earns annual television income on par with the NFL ($10 billion), England’s Premier League ($6.9 billion), and the NBA ($2.7 billion).
Record price for Indian cricket broadcast rights
The auction solidified the league’s place among the world’s most expensive sports properties, as a once-stagnant game has become a commercial powerhouse.
On a per-match basis, the I.P.L. ranks behind only the N.F.L.
Many want in.
Last year’s broadcast rights tender included Disney and Sony. CVC Capital Partners, which owned Formula 1, added an I.P.L. franchise to a portfolio that includes rugby and soccer. It bested? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United are owned by Americans.
“We didn’t expect such worldwide demand for franchises,” Scheiner added. RedBird’s $37.5 million investment has doubled in a year. Experts agree that every I.P.L. franchise is now worth at least $1 billion.
India’s cricket is a new moneymaker. In the 1990s, India’s sports governing body paid Doordarshan to air national team matches. 2008 brought the I.P.L. Teams in the league play Twenty20, a television-friendly, three-hour variant of the game that has superseded the multiple-day Test match format. I.P.L. matches draw more than 200 million viewers.
Foreign investors are drawn to India’s love of cricket and large market.
The league rose quickly. Lalit Modi was a midlevel executive of the Indian cricket board. In late 2007, he pulled off a series of unexpected talks to construct a sports league from scratch.
He promised the world’s greatest cricketers unbeatable wages. He auctioned the teams to India’s corporate and media elite. Sony paid $900 million for the first 10 tournaments’ television rights.
“It ticked several boxes from an investment perspective,” said Delhi Capitals director Mustafa Ghouse. It’s a closed league with no relegation, thus money is safe regardless of performance, while player salaries are capped.
Modi sold his eight teams for $723 million with these safeguards in place. Mukesh Ambani and Shah Rukh Khan were buyers. Twenty20 cricket, which traditionalists called “hit and giggle,” gained respect.
Early league existence was perilous. Second season moved to South Africa for security. In 2010, the BCCI sacked Modi after a power dispute. Two teams were suspended for multiple years after key officials were involved in match-fixing and unlawful betting.
The I.P.L. took off as an investment vehicle only after India’s Supreme Court intervened, tightening governance norms and ruling on conflicts of interest.
Matthew Wheeler of A&W Capital, which advises on sports investment in India, called the Supreme Court’s intervention “historic.” Once the Supreme Court ruled, the league felt better, he said. A $2.5 billion broadcast rights pact for 2017-2022 validated his opinion.
Former cricketer Wheeler stated his agency began promoting IPL franchises in 2017. The first said its fund didn’t cover India. “The second hesitated. CVC requested for our help.”
CVC Capital Partners was in India but not cricket. Wheeler spent three years learning the I.P.L. and cultivating ties with team owners and the BCCI. He advised patience. The I.P.L. will grow to 10 teams in August 2021. Bidding started.
RPSG Group bought a Lucknow franchise for $940 million, and CVC bought Ahmedabad for $750 million.
Both the BCCI’s $270 million minimum price and RedBird’s $250 million estimate of Rajasthan Royals were surpassed. It also means a single franchise in 2022 is worth more than all eight original clubs in the 2008 sale.
Adani Group, owned by an Indian billionaire, and Lancer Capital, led by Buccaneers and Manchester United owner Avram Glazer, were upset.
The enlargement was planned. A bigger league means more matches for its new TV deal. $6.2 billion over five years for domestic TV and internet rights startled even sports industry experts.
Adam Sommerfeld, a sports investment specialist at Certus Capital, said purchasing into the I.P.L. is “a no-brainer”
Sommerfeld: “They’d be investing in the most popular sport in the world’s second-most populous country.” Even if you buy and hold, IPL teams will appreciate.
In European soccer, even owners of great, historic clubs struggle to produce regular profits, while investors in midtier and smaller clubs suffer heavy financial implications if demoted. In the I.P.L., surpluses are nearly guaranteed. Media rights and league sponsorships are divided equally by the BCCI and the 10 IPL franchises. Teams control all local revenue, including sponsorships, ticket sales, and merchandise, and player salaries are set at a realistic amount.
Indian analyst K Shriniwas Rao predicted teams would spend 35% of revenue on labor in 2021. Even with empty stadiums due to the epidemic, every I.P.L. team was profitable in 2021.
Would-be investors lack opportunity. The I.P.L. has 10 franchises despite its expansion. Sommerfeld said “six or seven” U.S. club owners have enquired about the I.P.L.
No team owner seems interested in selling, though.
Delhi Capitals director Ghouse stated, “It’s a seller’s market.”
BCCI Secretary Says Men’s and Women’s Teams Will Receive Equal Salary
Original Source: India’s men’s and women’s cricket teams to receive equal pay, says Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary
“We’re adopting pay equity for BCCI women cricketers,” Shaw tweeted.
As we enter a new age of gender equality in Indian cricket, men and women will receive the same match fee.
The BCCI will pay women the same match fee as males. I promised pay equity to our women cricketers and appreciate Apex Council for their support.
No mention was made of changing BCCI’s annual retainers for women players, which are much lower than for India’s males. Highest-retainer women earn INR 50 lakh (£52,365), followed by INR 30 lakh (£31,421) for Grade B players and INR 10 lakh (£10,474) for Grade C players. Male Grade A+ players get INR 7 crores (£733,289), followed by INR 5 crores (£523,778), INR 3 crore (£314,188), and INR 1 crore (£104,745) for Grade C.
Shah said women’s cricketers will be paid the same as men: £15,724 for Tests, £6,289 for ODIs, and £3,145 for T20s.
This year, the BCCI suggested a women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) could start next year.
Former India captain Mithali Raj called it a “historic” decision.
“With the pay equity policy and WIPL next year, we’re ushering in a new era for women’s cricket in India,” Raj wrote on Twitter.
Shubman Gill Confidence for National Call-up
Original Source: Want to show I deserve national call-up: Shubman Gill
Top-order batter Shubman Gill is eager to make his T20 International debut in the forthcoming New Zealand series.
A day after being called up to India’s T20I team for the tour of New Zealand, Gill hammered his maiden century in the format to force Punjab into the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“It’s a big milestone for me, especially at Eden,” he stated after his 55-ball 126.
By nine runs, Punjab beat Karnataka.
Gill: “As an opener, spending time on the pitch and making runs gives confidence.”
“It’s a fantastic feeling to get picked for the Indian team in any format,” Gill added. I must prove I deserve this chance.” Gill controlled the conditions at Eden Gardens and played with the Karnataka onslaught.
Early in the powerplay, this fastball had seam movement. Batting gets easier later.
I made a mistake in the previous match by taking a huge shot too early. So I took it slow. It feels fantastic to have executed effectively, he continued.
Even as India struggles with K L Rahul’s form in the T20 World Cup, 23-year-old Gill has been in fantastic nick, scoring 130 in an ODI against Zimbabwe lately.
Summary of today’s Cricket/Sports News
Overall, RedBird acquired a 15 percent stake in Rajasthan Royals, an Indian Premier League franchise, for $37.5 million in June 2021. The money that has been invested into the league over the past 15 months indicates that RedBird got a good deal. Four months later, an I.P.L. expansion franchise was sold for $940 million. Eight months later, the league negotiated $6.2 billion worth of new television and digital media rights agreements. Former vice president of the Dallas Cowboys and then general manager of the Cleveland Browns, Alec Scheiner, stated: “When we first began studying cricket, we were by no means specialists.” The more we researched it, however, the more we discovered it resembled the NFL twenty years before.
On the other hand, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah announced on Thursday that both the men’s and women’s national cricket teams in India will get the same appearance fee for representing the country abroad. Shaw announced the policy change on Twitter, writing, “We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted BCCI women cricketers.” A new era of gender equality in Indian cricket means that “the match fee for both men and women cricketers will be the same.” Female cricketers for the BCCI will be compensated at parity with their male counterparts in match fees. I appreciate the Apex Council’s backing of my pledge to achieve pay fairness for our women cricketers.
Finally, in the next T20 International series against New Zealand, talented top-order batsman Shubman Gill is eager to prove that he belongs at the highest level. Gill smashed his first century in the format to propel Punjab into the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a day after receiving a national call-up to India’s T20I team for their tour of New Zealand.