From $100 mn to $1 bn: How IPL teams’ valuations have surged since 2008 | Business

Cricket as a business has grown rapidly since the Indian Premier League (IPL) started in 2008. Some teams valued at around $100 million in the inaugural season are now valued at over $1 billion. Recent deals involving Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) show how the league has become one of the richest in global sport.

United Spirits Limited (USL) approved selling RCB to a group led by the Aditya Birla Group, Times Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone’s BXPE. The deal values the team at $1.78 billion. In another deal, a consortium led by Kal Somani fully bought Rajasthan Royals at a valuation of $1.63 billion.

A ‘billion-dollar’ journey

When the IPL was launched in 2008, eight franchises were sold at relatively low prices compared to current valuations:

• Mumbai Indians (MI): Bought by Reliance Industries for about $111.9 million

• Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Bought by India Cements for $91 million

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): Bought by Vijay Mallya for $111.6 million

• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Bought by a Shah Rukh Khan-led consortium for $75.1 million

• Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils): Bought by GMR Group for $84 million

• Punjab Kings (PBKS): Bought by a consortium including Preity Zinta for $76 million

• Rajasthan Royals (RR): Bought by Emerging Media for $67 million

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) joined later in 2012 after replacing Deccan Chargers, with Sun TV Network acquiring the franchise for about $85 million.

Ownership landscape in 2026

Today, IPL teams are backed by a mix of large conglomerates, private equity firms and high-profile individuals:

• Mumbai Indians: Reliance Industries (Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani)

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Aditya Birla Group-led consortium (with Times Group, Blackstone, Bolt Ventures)

• Chennai Super Kings: India Cements (N Srinivasan)

• Kolkata Knight Riders: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: Sun Group

• Delhi Capitals: JSW Sports and GMR Group (Parth Jindal, Kiran Kumar Grandhi)

• Rajasthan Royals: Kal Somani-led US consortium

• Punjab Kings: Mohit Burman, Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul

• Gujarat Titans: Torrent Group (majority stake acquired from CVC Capital)

• Lucknow Super Giants: RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group

IPL: Current valuations

Houlihan Lokey’s 2025 IPL Valuation Study shows strong growth in team values, although brand value metrics differ from transaction valuations:

• RCB: $269 million (brand value, 2025)

• Mumbai Indians: $242 million

• Chennai Super Kings: $235 million

• Kolkata Knight Riders: $227 million

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: $154 million

• Delhi Capitals: $152 million

• Rajasthan Royals: $146 million

• Gujarat Titans: $142 million

• Punjab Kings: $141 million

• Lucknow Super Giants: $122 million

Delhi, Hyderabad IPL teams rebranded after ownership changes

Two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises — Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad — saw ownership changes that led to rebranding, though through different routes.

The Delhi franchise, originally launched as Delhi Daredevils in 2008, was bought by GMR Group for about $85 million. In 2018, JSW Sports acquired a 50 per cent stake for around ₹550 crore, after which the team was rebranded as Delhi Capitals.

In contrast, the Hyderabad franchise began as Deccan Chargers in 2008 but the Board of Control for Cricket in India terminated it in 2012 due to financial issues. The slot was rebid, and Sun TV Network acquired the new franchise for about ₹425 crore, launching Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. This marked a complete replacement, unlike Delhi’s partial stake sale.