"It's a monster in the sporting world" - Ravichandran Ashwin on the meteoric rise of IPL
Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently spoke about how the Indian Premier League has emerged as a massive success in the sporting world.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin pointed out how the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) move to privatize the cricket league proved to be a game-changer. He suggested that this was the reason why the tournament has proven to be such a big hit.
Ravichandran Ashwin explained:
"The BCCI has privatized the IPL. They brought in private ownership, and franchises were made to run the teams professionally, and that's the major reason why the IPL is a billion-dollar league today. It's a monster in the sporting world and is indeed a very proud moment for the Indians."
Notably, the IPL is one of the biggest and richest sports leagues in the world today. From attracting sponsors to raking in big money for media rights, the brand value of India's flagship T20 tournament has increased exponentially since its inception in 2008.
The enormous success of the competition has inspired cricketing boards from various countries to launch similar franchise-based leagues of their own.
MI Emirates
🏏
🇦🇪 MI Emirates
🇿🇦 MI Cape Town
The names of Reliance Industries’ new teams in the UAE’s ILT20 and CSA T20 League 🔵🏏
Mumbai Indians going global! 🌏
📸 IPL
#MumbaiIndians #CricketTwitter https://t.co/h3fplZFVi1
"They have made this pathbreaking move to privatize it" - Ravichandran Ashwin on CSA T20 League
The England Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) are yet to privatize The Hundred and Big Bash League, respectively. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) haven't followed in the same footsteps with their upcoming T20 league.
Ravichandran Ashwin opined that CSA have done the right thing by giving control of the teams to franchises. He further highlighted how South Africa is a big market for such cricket leagues.
He stated:
"The Hundred and Big Bash League (BBL) haven't privatized it yet. Cricket Australia and England Cricket Board currently own the entire BBL and The Hundred respectively. In the cricketing world, many feel that they should privatize these leagues."
He added:
"South Africa is a massive cricket market and they have made this pathbreaking move to privatize it, We already have a massive Indian presecene in South Africa. So, almost all IPL teams have bought a team in the CSA's new T20 league."
Watch Ravichandran Ashwin's full video here:
It is worth mentioning that the IPL team owners have acquired all six franchises in CSA's forthcoming T20 league.
Relaince Industries Limited (Mumbai Indians), Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, Royals Sports Group (Rajasthan Royals), JSW Sports (Delhi Capitals), Sun TV (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and RPSG Sports Private Limited (Lucknow Super Giants) have all invested in the teams of the CSA T20 League.