The structure of the Indian Premier League has come under fresh debate after its founder Lalit Modi made some strong claims about financial losses. According to him, the current format is stopping teams and the board from earning their full potential.
Right now, the IPL season has 74 matches, even after adding two new teams. Ideally, in a complete home-and-away format, every team would play each other twice, which would increase the total number of matches to 94. However, due to tight scheduling, this system has not been followed.
Lalit Modi believes this change is costing a lot of money. He explained that revenue from every match is split equally between the BCCI and the franchises. Because around 20 matches are missing, teams are losing out on significant earnings. He stressed that home-and-away games are where most of the value lies and reducing them affects overall revenue.
He also suggested that if the cricket calendar cannot accommodate more matches, then the number of teams should not have been increased in the first place. According to him, the current setup is not what was originally planned or agreed upon.
Breaking down the numbers, Lalit Modi claimed that each IPL match generates around ₹118 crore through media rights. If the league had 94 matches, it could generate an additional ₹2,400 crore every season. Out of this, about ₹1,200 crore would go to the 10 teams, meaning each franchise could earn roughly ₹120 crore more per year. This, he believes, would automatically increase the value of each team.
Apart from finances, Lalit Modi also shared his views on the future of cricket formats. He said that while Test cricket should continue, possibly with more day-night matches, One Day Internationals may have lost their importance. He feels the focus should now be on T20 cricket.
Despite the rise of other leagues around the world, Lalit Modi is confident that the IPL faces no real competition and will remain the biggest tournament in franchise cricket.
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