From a business point of view, the investors took a brave call, putting money in a place that didn't offer any guarantees
January 2008 was a cold winter month, and there was nothing out of the usual. However, in a room, some people were drenched in sweat, putting their hard-earned money to purchase teams for a new tournament—it was the room where the auction for IPL franchises was taking place.
T20 was a new format, and even though India had won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, the format was still in question. Therefore, despite all the research and analysis, nobody could pinpoint the exact success rate of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.
Yet, some businessmen, business groups, and actors displayed the guts to participate in an auction, which for some was a gamble, whereas for a few others, it was a blue-chip investment.
In January 2008, the IPL received tonnes of moolah that fuelled the tournament's eight franchises.
We start with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, which was the second cheapest, or, to put it in a more polite manner, economical franchise of the 2008 auction at 75.09 million US dollars. Despite the economic tag, KKR has won three titles in the IPL's 18 years of history and is the fourth most valuable franchise.
Vijay Mallya, once India's renowned leading business tycoon but now a fugitive, was then the chairman of United Breweries Group. He was known for investing in uncharted business territories, such as Kingfisher Airlines, an airline that did not merely offer transportation but a lifestyle, or his foray into Formula One with team Force India.
Not to forget, Mallya's Kingfisher was one of the first brands in India to truly understand how surrogate advertising worked. When the doors of the IPL opened, he jumped in because there was no bigger platform in India than cricket.
What's next? Mallya's group invested 111.6 million US dollars to buy Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Bangalore), which was the second most expensive franchise in 2008 after the Mumbai Indians, purchased by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance India Limited for 111.9 million US dollars.
Eighteen years later, Mumbai has five IPL titles, whereas Bengaluru has none.
And how can we forget Deccan Charges? The now-defunct IPL franchise was bought for 107 million US dollars, lifted one trophy and played only four seasons.
In the mid-table budget category were Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). Chennai was purchased by India Cements for 91 million US dollars, but this was the IPL's first controversy even before the tournament was inaugurated because the then BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan had a stake in Chennai.
However, despite all the controversies and even the ban, Chennai proved to be the most successful franchise alongside Mumbai, with five IPL titles.
The same cannot be written for Punjab and Delhi because both franchises have yet to touch the IPL trophy.
Rajasthan Royals will be forever remembered as the first champions of the IPL. However, people often forget to celebrate the fact that the Emerging Media-led consortium bought them for merely 67 million US dollars, making them a low-cost franchise compared to the rest.
Eighteen years later, the IPL is one of the biggest franchise-based tournaments on the planet. And while players are given all the credit for the tournament's success, one must not forget those investors or franchise owners from 2008 who can be regarded as the 'Founding Fathers' of the league whose gamble turned into a fruitful investment, not only in terms of money but also in terms of how cricket evolved in India.
