{"id":387056,"date":"2023-11-03T10:34:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T10:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2023\/11\/03\/saudi-arabia-eyes-stake-in-30-billion-indian-premier-league-cricket-news-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2023-11-03T10:34:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T10:34:24","slug":"saudi-arabia-eyes-stake-in-30-billion-indian-premier-league-cricket-news-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2023\/11\/03\/saudi-arabia-eyes-stake-in-30-billion-indian-premier-league-cricket-news-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia eyes stake in $30 billion Indian Premier League | Cricket News &#8211; Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-104942079,imgsize-107736.cms\" \/><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/saudi-arabia\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" target=\"\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/ipl\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" target=\"\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Premier League<\/a>, international cricket\u2019s most lucrative event, following a string of investments that have upended professional sports including football and golf.<br \/>Crown Prince <!-- -->Mohammed bin Salman<!-- -->\u2019s advisers have sounded out Indian government officials about moving the IPL into a holding company valued at as much as $30 billion, in which Saudi Arabia would then take a significant stake, people familiar with the matter said.The talks were held when the kingdom\u2019s defacto ruler visited India in September, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public.Under plans discussed at the time, the kingdom proposed investing as much as $5 billion into the league and help lead an expansion into other countries, similar to the <!-- -->English Premier League<!-- --> or the European <!-- -->Champions League<!-- -->, the people said.<br \/>While the Saudi government is keen to press on with a deal, the Indian government and the country\u2019s powerful but opaque cricket regulator \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/bcci\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" target=\"\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BCCI<\/a> \u2014 are likely to take a call on the proposal after next year&#8217;s Lok Sabha elections, the people said. The BCCI is led by Jay Shah<!-- -->, the son of India\u2019s home minister Amit Shah.<br \/>Saudi Arabia\u2019s powerful sovereign wealth fund, which has anchored many of the kingdom\u2019s previous sports investments, could ultimately be the vehicle used to do a deal with the BCCI if an agreement is reached. No final decisions have yet been made.<br \/>Representatives for the BCCI and the Saudi government\u2019s Center for International Communication didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment. The <!-- -->Public Investment Fund<!-- --> declined to comment.<br \/>Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has married American-style marketing with the glitz of Bollywood and the energy of India\u2019s vast population. The IPL\u2019s central strategic move was to discard cricket\u2019s traditional format for broadcast-friendly three or four hour games that encourage big, risky swings and frequent \u201csixes,\u201d cricket\u2019s equivalent of a home run.<br \/>The league has drawn a plethora of sponsors, including Aramco and the Saudi tourism authority. And despite a season that runs for just eight weeks each spring, bidders last year paid $6.2 billion for the right to broadcast IPL games through 2027. That works out to $15.1 million per match, more than the EPL and just behind the $17 million networks pay for each game in the National Football League in the US.<br \/>Any Saudi investment into the IPL or changes to the league\u2019s format will likely mean those agreements for media rights will need to be reworked, according to people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has splashed out billions of dollars on sports and the chairman of the sport\u2019s governing body in the kingdom has said he wants to turn the nation into a global cricketing destination.<br \/>\u201cYou can\u2019t compete with money, especially the money that Saudi Arabia is throwing around to certain people,\u201d England cricket captain and one of the world\u2019s top players, <!-- -->Ben Stokes<!-- -->, said in an interview this year.<br \/>Meanwhile, other attempts to replicate the IPL formula overseas are underway. Major League Cricket, a US upstart part-funded by Satya Nadella and Shantanu Narayen \u2014 the chief executive officers of Microsoft Corp. and Adobe Inc. respectively \u2014 concluded its first season in July.<br \/>That league, and others in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere, haven\u2019t dented the IPL\u2019s commercial dominance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lOvcW\">\n<p class=\"efT4r\">CSK &#8211; The &#8216;Kings&#8217; of consistency<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For Saudi Arabia, any investment in cricket would come after significant spending on sports, primarily golf and football. The PIF backed the LIV Golf tour, which this year agreed to a shock merger with the PGA Tour.<br \/>Saudi Arabia has also led a group that bought English Premier League football club Newcastle United FC, and is now on the brink of hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. As part of its push into the world\u2019s most popular sport, the kingdom has spent millions on the likes of Brazil\u2019s Neymar, France\u2019s Karim Benzema and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.<br \/>That spending has opened up the Saudi government to claims of \u201csportswashing\u201d its image and human rights record, though the kingdom\u2019s crown prince has emphasized the deals are primarily intended to boost the country\u2019s economy.<\/div>\n<p><script>!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n    function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) {\n      if (!isFBCampaignActive) {\n        return;\n      }\n      (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n        if (f.fbq) return;\n        n = f.fbq = function() {\n          n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(...arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);\n        };\n        if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\n        n.push = n;\n        n.loaded = !0;\n        n.version = '2.0';\n        n.queue = [];\n        t = b.createElement(e);\n        t.async = !0;\n  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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League, international cricket\u2019s most lucrative event, following a string of investments that have upended professional sports including football and golf.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s advisers have sounded out Indian government officials about moving the IPL into a holding company valued 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