Rise and Rise of BCCI

Cricket in India transcends mere sport; it is a profoundly cherished cultural passion. In fact, cricket and Bollywood are among the few important cementing forces in our culturally diverse country. 

BCCI, or Board of Control for Cricket in India, is the richest cricket board in the world. In November 2023, according to a report by Cricbuzz, the net worth of BCCI was approximately Rs.18,700 crore, a staggering 28 times richer than the second wealthiest cricket board in the world—Cricket Australia. According to the report, in November 2023, the BCCI accounted for more than 85 percent of the combined net worth of the top 10 cricket boards in the world.

As the power of any board in international cricket is directly proportional to the financial strength of the board, it is no wonder that the BCCI is dominating the world of cricket.

Most of the astronomical sum of money that BCCI earns comes from selling media rights of matches to the highest bidder. Long gone are the days when Indian cricket had to chase industrialists for funds. At the end of August 2023, BCCI announced the successful bidder for acquiring the media rights for the BCCI international matches and domestic matches from September 2023 to March 2028. That successful bidder was Viacom 18. Viacom 18 Media Private Limited acquired the media rights for the BCCI International Matches and Domestic Matches from September 2023 to March 2028 for a cumulative figure of Rs. 5,963 crores. 

In this context, BCCI President Roger Binny said: “The recent BCCI e-auction has unequivocally demonstrated the vigour of cricket in India. The remarkable journey of Indian cricket and its meteoric rise in the global sporting arena owes its success to the unwavering trust that people have vested in the BCCI leadership and its dedicated workforce. With the staunch support and collaboration of every stakeholder within our cricketing ecosystem, I am confident that we will continue to propel the brand BCCI to uncharted territories on the global sports stage.”

The rise of BCCI in the realm of world cricket is fascinating. It has travelled quite far indeed from the days when the then BCCI President NKP Salve wasn’t given two extra tickets for the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s. It was a thrilling contest which India won to the surprise of many pundits, by defeating the then mighty West Indies by 43 runs.

IPL, which many say has diluted the glory of test cricket, is another important source of revenue for BCCI. Through IPL, BCCI garners astronomical revenue through franchise fees, media rights, and sponsorship deals.

However, BCCI was not always that rich. Only when Jagmohan Dalmiya became the Secretary of BCCI in the 1990s that the actual money-earning potential of the great game was explored with vigour. The beginning of the money spinning journey of BCCI was probably in 1993 when Dalmiya and his colleague IS Bindra won the legal battle against Doordarshan  to sell the television rights of cricket matches in India. Furthermore, in 1995, the Supreme Court ruling gave BCCI the right to broadcast cricket in India as a commodity.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, broadcasting rights for the 1996 World Cup, hosted jointly by India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, were sold for $10 million, while the title sponsorship was worth $13 million. And it was just the beginning…

Dalmiya also became the president of the ICC in 1997, the first Asian to hold this position. During his three-year tenure, he was instrumental in bolstering the ICC’s coffers greatly. Jagmohan Dalmiya is widely recognised for transforming cricket into a lucrative sport and establishing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the wealthiest cricket authority globally. His strategic acumen was instrumental in dismantling the traditional dominance of Australia and England within the International Cricket Council (ICC), paving the way for the Indian subcontinent to become a formidable force in the cricketing world.

How lopsided the revenue model in world cricket has become in favour of BCCI could be gauged by the fact that in July 2023, at the ICC’s Board meeting in Durban, 38.5 percent ($230mn annually) of the ICC’s revenue was earmarked for the BCCI. All other boards got revenue in single-digit percentages.

BCCI’s strong financial position not only helps it to have its say in the world of cricket but also enables it to invest more on cricket infrastructure and on players, which in turn has improved the quality of cricket in India over the last two decades. Now India’s dominance in the cricket boardroom is also reflected in the cricket fields across the world.