IPL in danger because of Saudi Arabia? Arun Dhumal breaks silence
Published - 22 Mar 2025, 05:52 PM | Updated - 22 Mar 2025, 11:45 PM
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The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin on March 22. Over the years, the IPL has established itself as the biggest thing in the world of cricket in terms of revenue.
However, there are speculations that the league facing some danger from the oil-rich Saudi Arabia, who are reported to be planning a similar franchise league with a bigger income. IPL's chairman Arun Dhumal finally opened up on this issue ahead of the upcoming season.
Arun Dhumal refused to say anything just on the basis of speculations and repeated BCCI's stance of backing the T20 leagues across the world in order to popularise the game of cricket globally.
Arun Dhumal breaks silence on Saudi Arabia starting its league
When asked about IPL's competition with the Saudi Arabia-backed league, Arun Dhumal denied discussing anything just on the basis of speculations. He feels that the lack of cricket infrastructure in Saudi Arabia won't allow the Arabian giant to host a big tournament there.
"There is no point discussing something on the basis of speculation. There is nothing on the table for discussion with everyone (all stakeholders)," Dhumal was quoted as saying by PTI.
"And as far as my knowledge goes, there is no infrastructure as of now in Saudi Arabia that can cater to a tournament of this scale. So, there is no point discussing speculative stories," he added.
There have been various reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia might invest heavily in cricket in the upcoming years and might even start their own franchise league with a huge amount of wealth. However, there is no official conclusion regarding the matter yet.
Is IPL in danger because of Saudi Arabia?
Arun Dhumal further backed the emergence of various leagues and refused to accept that IPL's value would go down because of them. Dhumal feels that the emergence of various T20 leagues will allow the game to grow globally and the BCCI will just concentrate on growing their own league instead of stopping the others.
"The idea of getting cricket into the Olympics is that the game grows through the length and breadth of the globe. It is good that more leagues are taking shape and we don't see anybody as a threat," Dhumal reckoned.
"We would want to make sure that more and more games happen across the different territories, the newer territories. Whether it is Saudi, America, Europe, it doesn't matter. Nobody can stop anybody and we would not want to stop anyone," he mentioned.
Cricket is slated to be played in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics which will be a big moment ofr the sport. It will return to the Olympics after a massive gap of 128 years. As a result, the BCCI is also focused on growing the game globally in order to make it a spectacle in the Olympics.
IPL's huge valuation
The opening match of IPL 2025 will be played between the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
It is the 18th edition of the tournament and it has grown into one of the most highly successful franchise leagues in the world. The IPL is valued at $12 billion currently and it is one of the most expensive sporting leagues in the world in terms of revenue generated per match.
