'Would’ve been a terrible choice' - Gautam Gambhir on BCCI not starting IPL in India

The recent auction of IPL 2024 was successfully held as 72 players were sold to 10 franchises ahead of the 17^th edition of the tournament. Mitchell Starc scripted history as he got sold for a whopping INR 24.75 Crore to Kolkata Knight Riders and became the most expensive player in the history of the tournament.

Starc surpassed his Australia teammate and captain Pat Cummins who was sold for INR 20.50 Crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad just a few minutes before Starc’s bidding. Ever since its first edition, the IPL has grown exponentially in its value and is currently the second most valuable sporting league in the world in terms of media rights.

Recently, former India cricketer and two-time IPL winner Gautam Gambhir also stated that the BCCI would’ve committed their biggest sin had they not started the IPL and called it the most beneficial development for Indian cricket.

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“I believe it would’ve been a terrible choice for BCCI since the IPL stands out as the most beneficial development for Indian cricket,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

Notably, IPL has experienced immense growth ever since its first edition played way back in 2008 as it has been able to attract huge sums of money from sponsors. The media rights for the T20 extravaganza were sold for a whopping INR 48, 390 crore making it the second most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per-match value only behind the National Football League (NFL) of the USA.

IPL prepares young players for international cricket

Apart from filling the pockets of all the parties involved, the league has hugely contributed in grooming young Indian talent as they get to rub shoulders with the best players of the world. Furthermore, the youngsters are also exposed to high-pressure situations in front of jam-packed crowds which tests their nerves like no other competition.

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As a result, India have been blessed with emerging young talent who are ready to play international cricket and perform exceptionally right from their first few games. Despite that, India haven’t been able to win a T20 World Cup since the inception of IPL and will be eager to do that in the upcoming edition of the tournament in 2024 in the USA and the West Indies.