10 Things# 55

GH at the Junction Oval and elsewhere

1/ The IPL has started.

2/ But because the IPL is about money every bit as much as it is about cricket, it really started last week with two transactions: British drinks giant Diageo sold Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs16,705cr ($2.6 billion) to an India-American consortium comprised of conglomerate Aditya Birla and media group Times of India from Mumbai, New York-based sports investor David Blitzer and his previous private equity employer Blackstone; a consortium led by Manoj Badale’s UK-based Emerging Media sold the Rajasthan Royals for Rs15,290cr ($2.3 billion) to a venture led by existing minority investor Kal Somani, an Arizona tech bro, which also includes two great American fortunes with interests in the NFL - Rob Walton (Denver Broncos), eldest son of the founder of Walmart, and Michael Hamp (Detroit Lions), part of the Ford dynasty.

Actually a great read

3/ The valuations seem full, though they did when Lucknow Super Giants and Gujurat Titans were sold for a total of $2 billion five years ago. They may portend further change. RCB, for example, is unusual in having remained confined to India. While the Royals also own Paarl Royals in SA20 and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League, RCB’s expansion has been confined to fielding a successful Women’s Premier League team and hosing down rumours it will establish the Royal Challengers Bloemfontein as the seventh SA20 franchise. Diageo had been six months reviewing their investment, which they acquired a decade ago while scooping the debris of Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits, but American owners suggest new horizons: they know how valuable sporting properties can be…..

4/ Meanwhile at the Pakistan Super League, either something ghastly has befallen Marnus….

…or he is auditioning for The Walking Dead….

….perhaps as a metaphor for the league.