BCCI is the world’s richest cricket board
An organization that neither sells a product, nor is listed in the stock market, nor makes investor calls. Nevertheless, this organization is competing with India’s largest corporates. We are talking about BCCI i.e. Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has made cricket more than just one sport, has converted it into a business employee and is the brightest star of this Empire, the Indian Premier League (IPL), which not only makes the stadium in the stadium, but also making new records in terms of earnings.
According to an Economics Times report, BCCI earned Rs 9,741.71 crore in 2024, which is more than many mid-cap companies in India. This is not a small amount, this is the power that converts the passion of cricket into a business giant in India.
BCCI is the world’s richest cricket board
Cricket is not just a game in India, but a religion and BCCI is the biggest priest of this religion, which has become the most powerful organization in the world of cricket today. When the foundation of BCCI was laid in the year 1928, it was just a small organization, which was aimed at repairing India in international cricket, but today, this organization is the uncontrolled king of the cricket world, which has so much money that even big corporates should be surprised.
According to an Economics Times report, in 2024, BCCI’s total earnings were Rs 9,741.71 crore. Out of this, 5,761 crore rupees came from IPL only. That is, IPL is the magical lamp of BCCI, which earns billions of rupees every year. In the last five years (2018-2022), BCCI earned a total of Rs 27,411 crore. Hearing these figures, it seems that BCCI is not a sports organization, but a corporate giant, which is dominated from the cricket field to the world of business.
The strength of BCCI is not limited to just money. This organization has become the axis of global cricket today. It has a trap of media rights, franchise valuations and global broadcastings that make it number one among the world’s richest cricket boards. The annual earnings of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are around Rs 3,000 crore and Cricket Australia’s earnings are around Rs 2,200 crore but BCCI has surpassed both of them.
‘Gold hen’ became IPL for BCCI
If BCCI is called the corporate superpower of cricket, then the IPL is its turbo engine that speeds it. The IPL, which started in 2008, is the world’s largest event today. This is not just a league, but a business model that changed cricket to global level. The valuation of the IPL has reached Rs 1.56 lakh crore in 2025 and its brand value is $ 3.9 billion.
Getting the power of IPL from the fact that its media rights for 2023-2027 were sold for Rs 48,390 crore. Disney Star and Viacom 18 together confirmed the deal, which brought the IPL to the top of the Global Sports Economy. Not only this, due to IPL, BCCI earned a record of Rs 11,769 crore in 2023, which had a surplus of Rs 5,120 crore. This surplus came with an increase of 116%, which shows how big game-changer is the IPL.
The shine of IPL is not limited to India only. Its strength is now visible abroad as well. In the UK’s Cricket League ‘The Hundred’, the IPL franchise owners have invested money in four teams. For example, the owners of Mumbai Indians have taken 49% stake in Oval Invinesals, Sunrisers Hyderabad has fully bought Northern Super Charges, Delhi Capitals have 49% share in the Southern Brave and Lucknow Super Giants have won 70% in Manchester Originals. This shows that the light of IPL is now global.
Cricket was just a game, now the superpower of earnings
The story of BCCI is no less than a masala movie. This organization, which started in 1928, was then only a small board, whose job was to represent India in international cricket. But after Liberalization in the 1990s, veterans like Jagmohan Dalbia and Sharad Pawar brought it into the business world. The introduction of IPL under the leadership of Lalit Modi in 2008 completely changed cricket. Today, due to IPL, there has been a flood of T20 leagues worldwide, but no one could match it. BCCI and IPL together converted cricket to a global business employee with a colonial game. Today it is not only the most powerful sports body in India, but is a brand that is shining all over the world.