IPL will surpass America's NFL: Ex-England captain Andrew Strauss makes huge prediction

Former England captain Andrew Strauss on Wednesday predicted that the India Premier League (IPL) will surpass America's NFL to become the world's biggest domestic sporting league by 2040. Strauss said that the IPL is likely to grow six times the size of what it is today and is going to become the biggest domestic sporting tournament in the world. He further urged the English audience to embrace the IPL despite it posing the risk of eliminating longer forms of cricket. 

Speaking at Lord's Cowdrey lecture, Strauss emphasized the importance of accepting the IPL, saying that the rise of franchise cricket is one of the great steps forward to allow cricket to educate and connect. He said that the sale of IPL franchises for a whopping sum will help women's game to stand on its own feet and will give an opportunity to young girls to earn big money playing professional cricket.

"As the Indian economy grows, it is expected that by the time it reaches parity with the size of the USA in 2040, the value of the IPL is likely to be six times what it is today — this is going to be the biggest domestic sporting tournament in the world, bar none. If you allow yourself to keep bound up in the thesis that the purpose of the game is to bring diverse people together, whether playing or watching, and to allow cricket to educate and connect, then surely the rise of franchise cricket is one of the great steps forward," Strauss said. 

"More players are playing in different parts of the world, experiencing new places and meeting new people, more and more people around the globe are engaged with the great game that we all love so much. The first IPL franchises have just been sold for an earth-shattering sum of GBP 465 million (USD 572.5 million). Women’s cricket is truly standing on its own two feet and is likely to be in the top three sports for earning potential for any young girl with talent and an ambition to play sport professionally," he added. 

"I firmly believe that the Test series that capture our imaginations today — the ones that we really look forward to — aren’t going anywhere," Strauss concluded. 

IPL and the Women's Premier League

Last week, the BCCI announced the successful bidders for the Women's Premier League and revealed the names of the five parties who have won the right to own and operate a franchise in the tournament. As revealed by the IPL governing body, the combined bid valuation for the five teams was a whopping INR 4669.99 crore. Earlier this month, the BCCI sold the media rights to Viacom18 for Rs 951 crore, getting a Rs 7.09 crore per match value for five years.

As far as the IPL is concerned, it has already entered the list of top five sporting leagues in the world with the highest value per match. Last year, the BCCI sold the combined TV and media rights of the IPL for a whopping sum of $6 billion. 

Image: IPL/BCCI