The BCCI sold the IPL media rights for a total sum of Rs 48,390 crores for the next five years.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif wasn’t really impressed with the way the Indian Premier League (IPL) is spreading its roots in the business world in terms of money. He believes that the IPL is no more about cricket, but is now just a business.
The former wicketkeeper feels the Indian cricket board (BCCI) is just running the business; there is no quality of cricket in the IPL and he would be keen to watch where the franchise leagues go in the near future.
His comments came after the BCCI sold the media rights of the IPL for the next five-year cycle (2023-2027) for a record total sum of Rs 48,390 crore for packages A, B, C, and D.
Now, BCCI will get Rs 107.5 crores for showing an IPL match on TV and digital platforms, which makes it the second most valuable sports league in the world after the National Football League (NFL).
Rashid Latif said in a discussion on the YouTube channel Caught Behind: “It's about business and not cricket. This is not an ideal situation. If we have to give money, then many people earn money. This is not about quality at all, it is business totally.”
He added, “Call Indians and ask them for how many hours did they watch the matches (in IPL). This is business. I have said nothing else. Give whatever name you might, the value of the product, etc. This is business. We have to see how much it sustains.”
The franchise cricket league is currently a 10-team affair and there are talks that it might be a 94-match affair in the coming times. BCCI secretary Jay Shah reacted to the development after the e-auction of the media rights and said that it is possible that IPL will have a bigger window in coming years.