In January 2008, eight envelopes were opened in a Mumbai hotel ballroom. Each contained a bid for a cricket team in a league that hadn't played a single match. The most expensive team was Mumbai Indians ($111.9M) and the second most expensive team was Royal Challengers Bengaluru ($111.6M).
Today, Royal Challengers Bengaluru is expected to sell for $2B! That's an 18x return in 18 years on a cricket team that spent most of those years breaking hearts and never winning a title — until last year. But when you dig into how IPL franchises are actually valued, you quickly realize that buyers aren't paying for cricket.
So how did IPL teams go from a $50M base price to a $2B asking price — and why are India's biggest billionaires fighting to own one? Today, we go behind the scenes on the money, the math, and the real reasons behind IPL's extraordinary valuations.
The Desi VC Podcast presents BTS, a new research-driven, documentary-style audio series that pulls back the curtain on the businesses, personalities, newsmakers, trends, and ideas that shape the world we live in.
