IPL is the biggest Make in India brand – Arun Dhumal

Two more franchises have been added to the world’s biggest and richest Twenty20 league after the new owners spent a combined total of more than $1.6 billion to acquire their teams, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.

The business conglomerate Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG group won the bid for Lucknow in the Indian Premier League with an offer in excess of $932 million while the private equity firm, Irelia Company Pte Ltd. (CVC Capital Partners), will own Ahmedabad after making a bid of more than $692 million.

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said the global interest for new franchises in IPL has shown that it is the biggest ‘Make in India’ brand.

“Forget the numbers, what it has showcased the world is that we are capable of organising a tournament of this scale very successfully. The best of players want to be part of it. It has also changed the way cricket is played across formats.

“It is not for us to evaluate. The market is the best place to determine the price. We have opened the property to the world and people are valuing it. You can say the numbers were mindboggling back in 2008 (before first edition) but look what it has done to the eight franchises.

“Likewise, the new teams would have also done the number-crunching much before they came to the table for bidding and they know the value it brings to them.”