Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s advisers have spoken to Indian government officials about the move
The talks were held when the crown prince visited India in September
BI News, New Delhi : Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 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 to the Bloomberg News.
The talks were held when the crown prince visited India in September, the report said, adding that the kingdom proposed investing as much as $5 billion into the league and help lead an expansion into other countries.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the custodian of the IPL, did not immediately respond to request for a comment.
IPL is one of the richest leagues in the world and has been attracting top players and coaches to India since its inaugural edition in 2008.
According to the report, while the Saudi government is keen to press on with a deal, the Modi govt and country’s all powerful sports body BCCI, are likely to take a call on the proposal after next year’s Lok Sabha poll. The BCCI is led by Jay Shah, the son of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Reacting on the news, the England cricket captain Ben Stokes said Saudi Arabia’s billions will continue to transform sport, and his one could be next if players are lured by massive contracts.
After establishing the controversial LIV Golf tour and splashing out on superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar for its football clubs, the kingdom is setting its sights on cricket. The chairman of the Saudi cricket board, Prince Saud bin Mishal al-Saud, has said he wants to turn the nation into a “global cricketing destination.”
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“You can’t compete with money, especially the money that Saudi Arabia is throwing around to certain people,” Stokes, among the top players in the world, said in an interview. “People can be at different points in their lives and different points in their careers, where other things matter more to them than other things.”
Cricket is the world’s most popular sport after football and is gaining traction in places like the US, where a new league with teams backed by some prominent billionaires just got started, and the United Arab Emirates is also shaking things up with its new competition. The Indian Premier League is currently the most lucrative, though, attracting players including Stokes. But that could change given the financial firepower of Saudi Arabia.
Its Public Investment Fund, the driver of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s transformation of the kingdom’s oil-based economy, has pumped money into Formula One motor racing and boxing as well as golf and football. It owns English Premier League club Newcastle United, propelling it to Champions League qualification for the first time in two decades.
