India's cricket board banked nearly $300m from last year's iteration of its Indian Premier League, newly published financial documents have revealed.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is one of the richest governing bodies in global sport, owing largely to the runaway success of the flagship Twenty20 tournament.
The IPL has made millionaires of its top players and generated billions from media rights since its inception in 2008, spawning numerous copycat leagues in other cricket-loving countries in the years since.
@Jaspritbumrah93 marked his first @BCCI appearance in nearly a year with two wickets as the tourists defeated @cricketireland by two runs during a rain-affected opening Twenty20 international in Dublin Friday.https://t.co/3U9EPJmqcE
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 19, 2023
Annual reports for the five years to 2021-22, published on the BCCI website Thursday, showed the board had amassed a surplus of 320bn rupees ($2.7bn) as of April 2022.
That year's edition of the IPL saw a net income of $292m from revenues of $771m and expenses of $479m, according to audited account figures.
The BCCI has avoided publishing detailed finances in the past.
Before Thursday, the board had not made detailed accounts public since 2017.
@CricketAus batter @stevesmith49 and fast bowler Mitchell Starc have been ruled out of the white-ball series in @ProteasMenCSA through injuries, but both are expected to be back in action in @BCCI next month.https://t.co/PH5ouuEnP0
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 18, 2023
Former BCCI anti-corruption adviser Neeraj Kumar, who this year published a tell-all book about the board, criticized its secrecy on finances during an interview with Australian media in June.
"It's a matter of great pity that we are so rich and so much money is distributed to our states and never accounted for," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The BCCI auctioned broadcast and digital streaming rights for the 2023-27 IPL tournaments for an eye-popping $6.2bn last year, with US giants Disney and Viacom among the successful bidders.
@BCCI's pace spearhead @Jaspritbumrah93 has declared himself ready for the rigors of the one-day format as he returns to international cricket following a year on the sidelines due to a back injury.https://t.co/wS3dhHEX6Y
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 18, 2023
That figure is more nearly two-and-a-half times the value of its previous five-year media rights deal.
This year, the BCCI staged its inaugural women's edition of the T20 tournament, earning nearly $700m in combined franchise and media rights.
