3 min readUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 10:54 PM IST
Analysts and sports business experts have warned of an ‘investment bubble’ after Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were sold for a combined value of $3.41 billion on Tuesday.
A group led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani acquired Rajasthan Royals for $1.63 billion, while a consortium including the Aditya Birla Group and the Times Group, alongside US-based firms Bolt Ventures and Blackstone, bought RCB for $1.78 billion.
Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory, was candid in saying it was ‘difficult to understand’ the valuations of the two teams — averaging $1.7 billion — especially since the Torrent Group ‘acquired Gujarat Titans at a value less than a billion dollars’.
“So in a year, it is almost like a double valuation. And what has happened in that one year is actually only negative for the IPL — the real-money gaming ban, the broadcasting rights renewal has not happened in this one-year window, no new title sponsorship deals, none of the marquee deals have happened for IPL. And in spite of that, we have seen this double valuation. That is something that is very, very difficult to understand,” Santosh said.
On the valuation mismatch, Santosh noted that IPL team revenues run between ‘Rs 700 to 800 crores’ per season. “Rs 500 crores comes from central pool revenue, which is the broadcast money. And each team has anywhere around Rs 200 to 300 crores of sponsorship, ticketing and merchandise revenue. So we are talking about a 700 to 800 crores sort of revenue, which is less than a hundred million dollars — and yet these teams are getting valued at around 1.7 billion dollars, which is almost 20x revenue,” he said.
He added that broadcast money, which accounts for nearly ’75 per cent of a team’s revenue’, could come under pressure, with rights fees going forward likely to ‘grow by a very small percentage’. “We will not be surprised if it is slightly lower also,” Santosh said.
Chadwick, meanwhile, warned that an investment bubble may be looming ‘as the hype intensifies and buyers go in search of assets’. “Cricket needs a sustainable, long-term future, hence the sport’s governors must ensure that it doesn’t succumb to the short-termism of investment opportunists,” he said. “The Indian market already has volume, inclusion at the Olympics will bring global exposure, and interest from the Gulf adds to the optimistic picture. But cricket must ensure that money and commercial gain benefit the sport as a whole and not just a select few wealthy global investors.”
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