“I used to tell (my friends) that for once, I am on an extended vacation,” said Mysore, who helms the Knight Riders franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), an annual cricketing extravaganza that usually runs sometime between March and May.
That was 2010. Fast forward to 2022 and Mysore has his hands full. He is steering the franchise into new markets such as the US and the UAE after kick-starting its overseas drive by buying a team in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2015. It was the first Indian cricketing outfit to go international.
“Now we have a round-the-year business and an operating model that we are confident will work,” Mysore told Nikkei Asia in an interview.
He has company. Several Indian conglomerates, including Reliance Industries and the Adani Group, are snapping up cricket teams across the world, aiming to tap the sport’s dogged expansion into often uncharted territories.
For instance, the Adani Group, owned by India’s richest person, Gautam Adani, has bought a team in the UAE, while Sanjiv Goenka, owner of the RP-Sanjv Goenka conglomerate, has purchased a South African side.
Their shopping spree underscores how Twenty20 (T20) – a fast-paced version of the game that rarely stretches beyond three hours – could become serious business, helping cricket loosen the stranglehold that sports such as football and basketball still have on many countries.
“International cricket and test cricket was an old boys’ club, and cricket would have never grown with that,” said Joy Bhattacharya, a sports management professional and former director of Kolkata Knight Riders, referring to the kinds of matches that can last for days. “With the shorter formats, cricket has suddenly got a product that (can go) everywhere, and the results are for everyone to see.”
The Indian franchises eyeing new markets have tasted success with the IPL, where fat paychecks and unwavering supporter loyalty have attracted players and sponsors from across the globe. So much so that the average valuation of an IPL team soared from US$67 million in 2009 – a year after the tournament began – to about US$1 billion in 2022, while their annual earnings range from around US$31 million to US$41 million, according to Forbes.
Earnings are set to increase, as proceeds from the sale of the IPL’s broadcast rights for the five years to 2027 – some of which will be distributed among the teams – surged almost threefold from the previous cycle to US$6.2 billion.
Similar tournaments sprouted in major cricket-playing nations from Australia to Pakistan in the years following the IPL’s launch as the glitz and glamour of T20 leagues pushed the sport back into the reckoning after a period of dwindling viewership. They have emerged as a crucial revenue stream for local cricket boards of late after coronavirus-induced disruptions depleted their coffers, said veteran Indian sports writer Ayaz Memon.
But the sums of money connected to overseas leagues pale in comparison to the IPL, leading some experts to question whether Indian franchises will really be able to strike gold abroad. For instance, six-year broadcast rights for Australian cricket that include its flagship T20 tournament, the Big Bash League, fetched about US$1.2 billion in 2018. That is what broadcasters have agreed to pay the Indian cricket board every year beginning 2023 to screen only IPL matches.
“The largest market for the sport is the subcontinent, and none of the (other) markets is comparable in size,” said Bhattacharya, adding that he would be “surprised if an IPL franchise that makes 100 rupees in India earns 20 rupees in turnover elsewhere in the next 10 years”.
Some cricket fans have also taken aim at T20 leagues, accusing them of encouraging players to chase money rather than sporting excellence.
Kiwi bowling star Trent Boult recently asked the New Zealand cricket board to release him from a central contract, which would free him up to participate in more T20 tournaments, sparking fears that players could become stretched and unfocused.
That apart, T20 leagues could clash with international fixtures, leaving players struggling to choose between franchise duties and representing their country. “This has become an imbroglio, and frankly I don’t think (cricket’s international governing body) knows what to do,” said Memon. “The situation is quite hapless.”
And Memon warns of a potentially bigger impasse – one between the cricket franchises and the Indian cricket board, which bars Indian cricketers from participating in foreign T20 leagues.
The franchises, which have contracted Indian cricket’s biggest superstars for hefty salaries in the IPL, may at some point want them to represent their overseas outfits. “They (the Indian cricket board) show all the tendencies of being monopolistic,” Memon said. “It has not allowed even the least-known Indian to go out to play.”
Franchises have begun contracting foreign cricketers for multiple leagues. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine of the West Indies, who represent Knight Riders in the IPL, have also signed up for the franchise’s UAE team. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock and Jason Holder of the West Indies, who played for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, will represent the group’s outfit in the South African league.
But, Mysore, the Knight Riders chief, isn’t worried about sentiment toward T20 tournaments permanently souring. “People have made a bigger deal out of (criticising leagues) than (necessary),” he said, adding that local cricket boards have realised that T20 leagues not only “strengthen them financially”, but also create “an amazing platform for developing talent”.
He said he spends his days building a franchise where “every team runs on its own steam”, and eventually aims to take the company public.
“Fifteen years ago, nobody would have said that IPL could be so rich and viable. People have lost money, spilled a lot of blood to grow the league,” Mysore continued. “It’s tough to say how big each of these ventures that we have gotten into will become, but the opportunity is huge.”