Indian Premier League founder and its former commissioner Lalit Modi has stirred fresh debate by claiming that the league is losing nearly Rs 2,400 crore in revenue by not following the original home-and-away format.
However, the 62-year-old said that he was happy with the soaring valuation of the league's franchisees. He gave the example of the recent sales of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals for a combined value of Rs 31,000 crore. But the businessman insists that the BCCI must revert to the format that was initially agreed upon to avoid the losses.
According to Modi, the league was designed so that every team would play each other twice in a season. When the league expanded to 10 teams in 2022, with the inclusion of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow SuperGiants, the IPL followed a 74-match per season format, using a tweaked grouping system instead of a full home-and-away structure. If every team would have been playing every other team twice along with four playoff games, then the number of matches every season would total to 94.
Modi believes that the tweaked format is costing both the Indian cricket board and franchises substantial loss.
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“For every game, the BCCI takes 50 per cent of the revenue, while the remaining 50 per cent goes to the teams. By cutting 20 matches, teams are losing revenue they are contractually owed,” Modi said in his interview to Sportstar.
He further stressed that teams pay hefty fees with the expectation of hosting home matches. “The home-and-away format is where the true value lies. If the calendar doesn't allow it, then the leaguehem shouldn't have expanded to 10 teams. That is not what we sold, and I'm certain not everyone signed off on this," he explained.
In the interview, he questioned why the league has not adhered to the original structure. He believes that the reasons for following the existing format are mere “excuses” and emphasizing that this is both a contractual and commercial issue.
Modi also claimed the reduced match count has a direct impact on franchise valuations. “If the IPL hosted 94 matches with media rights valued at Rs 118 crore per game, the rights package would automatically rise by nearly Rs. 2,400 crore, out of this, an estimated Rs 1,200 crore would go to the 10 teams or around Rs 120 crore each boosting franchise values considerably," he explained.
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