Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday (14th June) said that IPL media rights being sold at a high price shows how strong the game is in the country.
Since its inception in 2008, IPL has always provided BCCI with a huge chunk of money. It is considered the world’s most lucrative T20 league across the globe. The brand value of IPL has also seen it getting compared to various sporting leagues across the globe.
The league’s growth on Tuesday took many by surprise after it amassed ₹48,390 crores across television and digital media sales for the next five-year cycle. For TV, Star won the bid while the Viacom18 acquired rights for the digital media.
Read Also: Injured KL Rahul may miss the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Edgbaston- Report
Viacom18 bought the digital for Rs 23,758 crores and it also won the bid for Australia, South Africa and United Kingdom rights. On the other hand, Star India won TV rights for Rs 23,575 crore along with Times Internet, which got the rights to the Middle East North Africa, the United States and the Rest of the World.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Sourav Ganguly said that the IPL e-auction showed how much strong the game of cricket is strong in the country. He highlighted that the higher-price should be the biggest motivation for all young players and Team India to take their game to their highest level.
“The game has never been just about money..it is about talent. The IPL e-auction just showed how strong the game is in our country..the numbers should be the biggest motivation for all the young players to take their ability and Team India to the highest level,” Ganguly Tweeted.
Ganguly also congratulated the companies who bagged the IPL media rights and also lauded fans for making all this happen.
“Congratulations to Star, Viacom, Times Internet for putting their might in getting the auction to new heights..Indian cricket fans you make this happen @JayShah @ThakurArunS @BCCI @IPL,” he said.
Ganguly envisaged an infrastructure boom for cricket in the country. He congratulated the cricketers and the fans involved in the journey, while also thanking his BCCI colleagues.
“This will create infrastructure to make the best players in the world..The game is a religion in this country. My special congratulations to all the players in the last 50 yrs, when the game had nothing, and above all the fans and supporters who just turn up in numbers in stadiums and in front of tv sets.
“Congratulations to the BCCI team led by Hemang, KPMG, Srinivas, Argus, BCCI HOD and my collegues Jay, Arun, Brijesh, Jayesg, Mamon, for spending hours to get the auction process right,” he said.
(ANI inputs)
