The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) is drawing up grand plans to make franchise leagues in other sports successful in the footsteps of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is the world’s richest cricket league and the second most valuable sporting league in the world.
Sources told Times Now that MYAS wants owners of IPL teams to buy teams in other sports to ensure they are run successfully. Women’s hockey, alongside Archery and volleyball, are sports that are under consideration for this initiative.
The move comes on the back of the Women’s Hockey India (HI) League facing an existential crisis due to rising costs leading to operational issues. Last month, India’s Women’s Hockey team made a strong appeal to save the league after their fifth-place finish in the Hockey World Cup. This was India’s best display in the tournament since 1974, and the players credited the league for the success.
In recent times, India’s top division football league, the Indian Super League (ISL), has also faced a tough fight to stay operational, with the 2025-26 season only starting in February and being played in a truncated fashion.
Who are The IPL Owners?
The 10 IPL teams are owned by some of the richest and most popular people in the country. The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group owns the Mumbai Indians (MI), while the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are owned by India Cements. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were recently sold to new owners, who are a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group and ArcelorMittal, respectively. Meanwhile, Bollywood heroes Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta own the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). RPSG Group’s Sanjiv Goenka is the owner of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Meanwhile, the Delhi Capitals are jointly owned by the GSR and JSW Group. As far as the Gujarat Titans (GT) are concerned, the Torrent Group is their majority owner.