IPL is not just a cricket tournament, it’s a proper business model and as it’s growing year by year, the brand value of the franchises involved in the tournament is increasing as well.
Some of the franchises are growing at a faster rate than the others, but more or less, all the 8 franchises are making significant amount of money now, unlike the first couple of seasons where most of the franchises were at loss.
Here is the current brand value of the 8 IPL franchises –
#1 Mumbai Indians (809 crore INR)
It’s not really a surprise that Mumbai Indians are at the top of the pile. They have had some real superstars of the game playing for them over the years, none bigger than Sachin Tendulkar himself. They are also owned by the Reliance Industries which is probably the biggest industry group in India at present. The fact that Mumbai Indians have won 4 IPL titles has also gone a long way in enhancing their brand value.
#2 Chennai Super Kings (732 crore INR)
Chennai Super Kings have been the most consistent team in the history of the IPL. They are at no. 2 in terms of winning trophies with Mumbai Indians occupying the top spot, but when it comes to consistency, CSK are at the top as they have made the playoffs every time they have participated in the IPL, apart from also winning the trophy thrice.
With every passing year, CSK sees a steep rise in their brand value and much of that can be attributed to their consistency. The fact that MS Dhoni’s name is associated with them also helps.
#3 Kolkata Knight Riders (629 crore INR)
Kolkata Knight Riders were owned by the biggest Indian movie star Shahrukh Khan and they automatically got a lot of attention straightaway, but their performance in the first three seasons of the IPL was quite horrible which was why they couldn’t see a big rise in their brand value initially.
However, as they changed the squad and won a couple of titles, they are now in top 3 in terms of brand value.
#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore (595 crore INR)
It’s really very surprising that despite not winning a single trophy in the 12 seasons of the IPL so far, RCB has still been able to get to a very healthy brand value of close to 600 crore INR and the biggest reason behind it is Virat Kohli.
Kohli is not just the current Indian captain and is the most powerful man in international cricket, he is also the most celebrated cricket star in the entire world and all that help RCB generate a fair bit of revenue.
#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad (483 crore INR)
Sunrisers Hyderabad historically hasn’t had too many superstar players, but since the time they won the IPL trophy in 2016, their brand value is on the rise. They have also been very consistent in the last few years and have been qualifying for the playoffs on a regular basis. They are another franchise which is going in the right direction as far as the revenue generation is concerned.
#6 Delhi Capitals (374 crore INR)
Delhi Capitals, despite having their base in the Indian capital city, have not been able to create a huge fandom for themselves as they have just not played well enough in the IPL over the years.
The size of the fandom of a franchise is directly proportional to the value of the sponsorship it is able to generate. While Delhi had the potential to match Mumbai with its brand value when the IPL first started, it is now miles behind Mumbai.
#7 Kings XI Punjab (358 crore INR)
Kings XI Punjab is one of the only three IPL franchises so far which have not won an IPL title yet and although it has Preity Zinta’s name associated with it who is a movie star, the franchise just doesn’t get enough eyeballs as it doesn’t really play a very exciting brand of cricket.
The fact that they don’t deliver the results either further pushes KXIP back in terms of popularity. It’s not really a surprise that they are lagging behind with their brand value.
#8 Rajasthan Royals (271 crore INR)
Rajasthan Royals were the champions of the first ever season of the IPL and they had the opportunity to build onto it and try and add on to their brand value, but their performance quickly declined after that and they have failed to even qualify for the playoffs in the last few IPL seasons, which is why they are the only franchise in the IPL at the moment whose brand value is less than 300 crore INR.
