Saudi Arabia Interested In Buying Multi-Billion Stake In IPL: Report

Saudi Arabia is keen on buying a stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to reports. Started in 2008, the IPL is the biggest and the richest franchise T20 competition in the world and also ranks among the leading sports tournaments.

Leading cricketers from around the world participate in the competition every year right from the first-ever season of the Indian Premier League. A couple of years ago, the BCCI also added two new teams to the competition to take the total number of teams to ten.

With IPL continuing its meteoric rise, Saudi Arabia is interested in associating itself with the competition. According to a report in Bloomberg, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s advisers have discussed the possibility of moving the Indian Premier League into a holding company, valued at as much as $30 billion. If this passes through, Saudi Arabia could take a significant, multibillion-dollar stake. The report stated that the talks were held when the Saudi Prince visited India in September.

Saudi Arabia’s proposal for IPL:

The report further stated that Saudi Arabia proposed investing as much as $5 billion in IPL and helping the expansion of the league into other countries as well. The news outlet also stated that the Indian government and the BCCI are likely to take a call on the matter after the general elections next summer.

Saudi Arabia is already associated with the Indian Premier League as the sponsor. Its leading petroleum and natural gas company Aramco as well as the Saudi Tourism Authority are the sponsors of the league. The T20 competition has established itself as one of the most lucrative competitions in the world.

In recent times, the BCCI has signed several lucrative deals. Last year, the BCCI sold the telecasting rights of the IPL for a staggering amount of $6.2 billion, which comes to $15.1 million per match, which is more than the English Premier League and just behind the US’ National Football League.