Kohli highest grosser in IPL history, KKR most valuable franchise: Report

Virat Kohli has emerged as the highest earner in the 18-year-old IPL’s history, grossing Rs 230 crore from his association with Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s association, as per a report published on Tuesday.

The combined valuation of all 10 Indian Premier League franchises stands at Rs 1.63 lakh crore, the report by Fanatic Sports and Hurun has said.

The Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders leads with a valuation of over Rs 19,200 crore, followed by the Ambanis-owned Mumbai Indians at Rs 18,400 crore and Chennai Super Kings at Rs 18,400 crore, the report said.

Interestingly, the average valuation of an IPL team is projected to jump to USD 15 billion by 2032 from the present USD 1.8 billion, the report, which comes amid a heightened interest in deal-making among franchisees, said.

“India is standing at the base of that curve right now. Talent is being manufactured at the grassroots. Capital is arriving at the top. A billion-plus consumers are about to have the income to participate in between,” Hurun India’s Founder and Chief Researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said.

Rohit Sharma with earnings of Rs 227.2 crore and MS Dhoni at Rs 200 crore follow Kohli in all-time IPL earnings, the report said.

In contrast, among women cricketers, Smriti Mandhana tops Women’s Premier League with cumulative earnings at Rs 13.7 crore till now and the top-10 women players have earned just Rs 90 crore till now.

In the case of hockey, the country’s national sport, the contrasts are even starker.

Defender Harmanpreet Singh commands the highest salary in the Hockey India League with a salary of Rs 78 lakh, followed by the Rs 72 lakh grossed by Abhishek Nain, a forward, and Rs 70 lakh by midfielder Hardik Singh, the report said.

Hockey, however, scores on delivering young talent with players such as 14-year-old Ketan Kushwaha and two 15-year-olds, Purti Ashish Tani and Rahul Yadav, the report said.

Looked at from a geographical perspective, the sport which has won India big laurels in Olympics, also wins from a grassroot relevance perspective, the report said, pointing out how a single town in Odisha (Sundargarh) contributes 12 athletes in the list.

The overall list tracks 1,323 elite athletes from 504 cities, 181 states/provinces, and 53 countries across 59 teams in six leagues across sports.