Cricket News

Jay Shah shares Indian Cricket Board’s future plans for the Indian T20 league

Ever since the media rights auction for the Indian T20 League took place, it went on to become the ‘talk of the town’. After the successful auction, Indian Cricket Board is slowly revealing its future plans for the league. Indian Cricket Board Secretary, Jay Shah recently confirmed an increase in the number of games in the league going forward.

In an interview given to Cricbuzz, Shah expressed his delight about the ever-increasing brand value of the league and the plans to turn it into a global spectacle.

 

“We have been talking with our fellow Member Boards and the apex body of cricket about having a bigger dedicated window for the league. The Indian T20 league is a marquee event on the annual cricket calendar, and it is now only behind the NFL. The quality of cricket that you witness in the league is world-class with senior international stars coming and playing with and against their Indian counterparts.”

 

Commenting on the successful media rights deal, Shah said that having multiple broadcast partners will help the game reach to a larger audience. The E-auction for the league’s media rights was held for the 2023-27 cycle and the Indian Cricket Board earned a revenue of Rs 48,390 crore by selling the media rights.

 

“The NFL is the biggest sporting league in the world and it has five different broadcast partners. If you remember, we were close to having multiple broadcasters during the last cycle itself before Star’s consolidated bid outbid others,” Shah said.

“Having multiple broadcast partners means the game will reach a wider pool of audience and it will grow further. The Indian Cricket Board has a duty to promote the game within India and globally. It surely benefits the audience as cricket-loving fans will now have more access to Indian T20 League matches.”

Shah further credited the world-class cricket and the fan engagement for making the league a huge success.

“Many factors have contributed to the progressive growth of the Indian T20 League. The three biggest reasons are the world-class cricket on display and fan engagement. Right from the first season, the fans have rallied around the teams and have loved the concept of this unique tournament. Its popularity has grown over the years and the Board has pulled out all stops to ensure that the league’s continuity is maintained,” Shah added