Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi called out the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), claiming they are missing out on INR 2,400 crore in revenue by not following the originally agreed-upon tournament format. He made the remark days after both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) raised more than USD 1.5 billion each. Modi expressed delight at the league’s soaring valuation after the two franchises were sold for a combined fee of approximately INR 31,000 crore, but stressed that the current structure is not aligned with the initial plan.
“For every game, the BCCI gets 50 per cent, and the remaining 50 per cent is distributed to teams. Consequently, teams are now losing out on 20 games. It is a contractual obligation, given the fees they are paying, to provide them with home-and-away fixtures,” Modi told Sportstar in an interview.
Modi emphasised that the absence of a full home-and-away format has reduced the total number of matches, impacting both franchise earnings and overall league revenue. According to him, the original model ensured that every team played each other twice, a system that maximised both competitiveness and commercial returns.
Earlier, it was speculated that a total of 94 matches would be played in the IPL season after the introduction of two teams, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans. However, as of now, only 74 matches have been played, and there is no indication that the number will increase in the next edition of the tournament in 2027.
“The home-and-away format is where the value lies. If there is no space in the calendar, do not increase the number of teams. It is as simple as that. That is not what we sold. Has everybody signed off on this? I guarantee they have not,” he added.
Use of current format?
He further questioned the rationale behind the current format, stating, “Why are they not playing home and away? There are excuses, but it is a contractual obligation and a commercial transaction for the teams.”
Modi also outlined the financial implications of the reduced schedule. “If there were 94 matches today on a home-and-away basis at ₹118 crore per game, the media rights alone would be worth an extra ₹2,400 crore. That is ₹2,400 crore in additional revenue for the BCCI,” he explained.
Highlighting how this would benefit franchises, he added, “Of this, ₹1,200 crore would have gone to the 10 teams, ₹120 crore each, and team values would automatically have been higher.”
