IPL Players Are Underpaid: Ex-Player Throws Open Debate After RCB And RR Generate Rs 31000 Crore Value
The IPL saw a mega windfall as champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) got new owners
- IPL saw a mega windfall as RCB and RR got new owners, with collective valuation going over Rs 31,000 crore
- Abhinav Mukund argued that IPL players are grossly underpaid given the league's massive valuation
- "IPL players are grossly underpaid. Listen, hear me out. Because the valuation of the league is so high"
The IPL saw a mega windfall as champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) got new owners. The Aditya Birla Group-led (ABG) consortium acquired a 100 percent equity stake in RCB for a whopping USD 1.78 billion (approximately Rs 16,706 crore) from its current owner, United Spirits Limited. RR was acquired by a US-based Kal Somani-led consortium for USD 1.63 billion (approximately Rs 15,290 crore). The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and the Hamp family (Ford Motor Company). Combined, the teams are now valued at over Rs 31,000 crore.
However, according to former India and IPL player Abhinav Mukund, the players are still underpaid. Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, former India opener Abhinav Mukund argued that IPL players are grossly underpaid given the league's massive valuation.
Mukund said, "I feel IPL players are grossly underpaid. Listen, hear me out. Because the valuation of the league is so high. And if you look at other leagues around the world - the economics of it - you take baseball, you take F1, you can take any of these guys. In comparison to that, 20 crores or 25 crores is actually not that much, if you look at it in that way."
Mukund continued: "If you are saying IPL is one of the top 4-5 leagues in the world, your players should also be paid like the top 4-5. It's not even in the top 10 or top 20. And if a player is in the top 10, that is because of all the other endorsements, not because of the IPL salary. So the salary should not be capped. I feel that IPL players could be paid more."
He suggested, "An IPL team gets about 400 to 500 crores a year, from what I have read in reports. I think that of the 100 to 120 crore they are currently spending, there should be a little more - maybe double that - as the salary cap. Maybe 200-250 crores."
This bold opinion highlights the growing debate on IPL economics and player compensation.