Saudi Arabia has signalled interest in purchasing a multi-billion dollar stake in the heavyweight Indian Premier League (IPL) men’s Twenty20 cricket competition.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, advisors to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have spoken to officials from the Indian government about potentially moving the IPL into a holding company – which could be worth as much as $30 billion.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The IPL is currently run by a governing council, and ultimately by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with its 10 teams privately owned.

Bloomberg reports that talks were held in September when bin Salman visited India and that proposed Saudi investment into the IPL could come to $5 billion in total worth.

Last December, the franchise league brought in the Saudi Tourism Authority as a commercial partner, to join Saudi oil giant Aramco – which was already the exclusive sponsor of the Orange Cup (worn by the IPL’s top run-scorer) and the Purple Cap (donned by its leading wicket-taker).

However, compared to the other sports in which Saudi Arabia has made significant and controversial investments in recent years – most prominently, soccer and golf – it has not yet had as much to do with cricket.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Although Aramco also has a deal in place with the ICC, there is no Saudi cricket league, no Saudi players involved in any of the main leagues, and no serious investment (yet) from Saudi firms or the country’s government in any of the main cricketing competitions worldwide.

That may now be changing, however, with these reports following some in April that suggested Saudi government officials had discussions with IPL franchise owners about trying to set up a similar competition in the kingdom.

The 10-team IPL, launched in 2008, has gradually become one of the world’s foremost sports properties in terms of financial value, with the total value of its media rights in the current five-year cycle topping $6 billion.

Evision, the media and entertainment division of the e& Emirati technology and investment group, held media rights in Saudi Arabia to the 2023 IPL, which took place across April and May. These were secured through a deal with the Times Internet Indian media group.