Who Owns the IPL? BCCI, Franchise Owners & How the League Works (2026)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the world’s richest Twenty20 cricket competition — and one of the most valuable sports properties on the planet. But who actually owns the IPL? The league itself is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), while each of the ten franchises is owned by separate private investors, corporations, and celebrity groups.

Who Owns the IPL?

The IPL as a tournament is owned and operated by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) — India’s apex cricket governing body. BCCI does not sell or license the league; it controls all broadcast rights, sponsorship deals, franchise fee structures, and rulebooks. The current BCCI President is Roger Binny and Secretary is Jay Shah (who moved to ICC Chairmanship in 2024). The ten franchise teams within the IPL are separately owned by private entities who pay franchise fees and annual participation costs.

IPL Franchise Owners (2026)

Team	Owner	Ownership Entity
Mumbai Indians (MI)	Mukesh Ambani family	Reliance Industries / IndiaWin Sports
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)	N. Srinivasan	India Cements Ltd
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)	United Spirits / Diageo	Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)	Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta	Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)	Kalanithi Maran	Sun Group / Kaveri Seeds promoters
Delhi Capitals (DC)	Parth Jindal, GMR Group	JSW Group + GMR Sports
Rajasthan Royals (RR)	Manoj Badale	Emerging Media (UK)
Punjab Kings (PBKS)	Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman, Karan Paul	KPH Dream Cricket Pvt Ltd
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)	Sanjiv Goenka	RPSG Group (RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group)
Gujarat Titans (GT)	CVC Capital Partners	CVC Capital / Kavya Maran (now SRH swap)

How the IPL Was Founded

The IPL was conceived and launched in 2008 by Lalit Modi, then Vice President of BCCI, inspired by English Premier League football’s franchise model. Eight teams were auctioned to franchise owners in January 2008 — generating franchise fees totalling $723.5 million. The inaugural IPL season played in 2008 with Rajasthan Royals (led by Shane Warne) winning the title. Modi was later suspended by BCCI in 2010 over financial irregularities, but the league he built became India’s most valuable sports property. Media rights for the 2023–2027 cycle were sold for a record ₹48,390 crore (~USD $6.2 billion) — split between Star Sports/Disney+ Hotstar (TV) and Reliance Jio (digital).