Why cricket's new financial reality forces teams to stop chasing potential? – OneCricket

OneCricket
Virat Kohli with IPL 2025 trophy (Source: AFP)
Cricket and Bollywood in India are celebrated as festivals and followed with the same fervour as a religion. Recognising this, Lalit Modi, the former BCCI President, in 2008, introduced a never-before-seen cricketing event called the Indian Premier League. Inspired by American sporting events like the NBA and the NFL, IPL promised to bring sports and entertainment together. 
Fans who were still basking in the joy of India’s maiden ICC T20 World Cup triumph in 2007 embraced the cash-rich tournament with open arms, turning it into the biggest sporting carnival in the country. However, what was previously aimed at reinventing the game of cricket has now become a high-stakes financial ecosystem. 
Wondering how? Read ahead as we unmask the factors that made IPL valuation skyrocket in less than 2 decades.  
When the IPL started, let’s say till 2014, teams had room to gamble on “potential”. This included young Indian players or untested overseas talent that were cheaply available, as the league itself was still finding its identity.
However, at present, with franchise valuations in the billions, media rights exceeding ₹48,000 crore, and owners demanding immediate returns, the risk-taking appetite has convincingly dropped.
It is evident that franchises are no longer willing to carry “developmental” players who might come good in two or three seasons, instead, they want instant impact.
The tournament introduced India’s first-ever open-door bidding. IPL auctions since 2008, flipped the script. Suddenly, players weren’t just athletes; they were marketable assets.
Lately, the trend has moved towards every performance, every boundary, every highlight, adding to a player’s commercial value. Franchises started evaluating talent not only for on-field skill but also for off-field appeal: social media presence, merchandise sales, and the ability to drive fan engagement. In this ecosystem, a player who can score runs or take wickets and generate buzz became far more valuable than one who could only deliver on the field.
To understand the above, let’s take one very recent and simple example, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Despite winning their first IPL trophy only in 2025, they have consistently boasted the largest fanbase in the league. Star players like Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, coupled with RCB’s bold branding, ensured the franchise remained commercially successful and highly marketable, proving that brand value and fan loyalty can sometimes outweigh on-field silverware.
While the IPL was pictures as a cricketing festival, it has quietly evolved into a commercial powerhouse. Broadcast rights alone now fetch over ₹48,000 crore, turning each match into a financial extravaganza. 
Notably, in 2022, BCCI sold the IPL media and broadcasting rights, attaining a whopping Rs 48,390 crore for five years, making it 2nd most valued sporting league in the world.
The same year, the value of per IPL match made more than a 100 per cent jump from the previous Rs 54.5 crore to above Rs 114 crore (approx). Globally, the per-match value (USD 14.61 million) in IPL is second only to NFL, where every match is worth USD 17 million.
“I feel everything inside me exploded when I was just told that IPL has finally become the most valuable sports brand globally. I always knew it would. But never imagined that it will be in such a short time span,” wrote Lalit Modi, in a X (formerly Twitter) post in June 2025.
Acknowledging the league’s importance, the founder and architect of IPL,  Lalit Modi directed to its commercial value and not being the talent yielder. Thanking the fans, the creator of IPL emphasized that it is the best sports product. 
Certainly, the ‘product’ is yielding the rewards and bagging commercial deals at every point. 
In present-day IPL, every boundary, every six, every wicket, every dot ball, and even the time-out is branded. Back in the 2010s, IPL ad breaks, if you remember, used to have an iconic feel to them with those innocent Vodafone ‘zuzu’ ads or chips and soft drink ads with actors having a banter with cricketers. However, now they have transitioned into catering to real-money games. 
These Fantasy Cricket Apps reward fans with points linked directly to player performance, creating another layer of engagement and revenue around individual players.
Cricket & talent take a backseat while IPL builds a billion-crore ecosystem
It is quite evident that, today’s IPL, the focus has shifted from the sport itself to the business surrounding it. Cricket and raw talent, which were once the heart of the league, are increasingly pushed to the background. While commerce, branding, and gambling occupy the foreground. Every boundary, every highlight, and even every break is optimized to generate revenue, maximize fan engagement, and boost brand visibility.
Hence, it is safe to say that even teams measure success not only by trophies or player development but by their increasing brand value. Yupp, unfortunately, but it is true, the IPL is no longer just a festival of cricket, it is a billion-crore spectacle where business and entertainment dictate, and cricket plays a supporting role.

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