DHARAMSALA: IPL chairman Arun Dhumal was a busy man overseeing the preparations at the HPCA Stadium here on the eve of the match between Punjab Kings and RCB. In a chat with TOI, he spoke about the controversies, relationship with Bangladesh board after the Mustafizur Rahman fiasco, IPL’s Valuation, Expansion And WPL. Excerpts…

IPL has run into a few off-field controversies this year…

There have been a couple of instances. As per rules, whatever strict enforcement that BCCI could have done, the action has already been taken by the relevant people — be it ACSU or match referees. We are very firm when it comes to the integrity of the game. There has been more hype in the media. The game is very clean. The boys know how to behave and what to do. Wherever there has been any instance wherein something would have happened inadvertently, that has been dealt with very strongly.

Ousting Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL snowballed into a major crisis ahead of the T20 World Cup. Where do we now stand on Bangladeshi players in IPL?

It is a dynamic situation. BCCI would want to maintain the best of relations with all the cricket boards. To keep the interest of the game is our topmost priority. I would not want to comment on what has happened. Whatever happened is a thing in the past. Going forward, I see us maintaining very good relations with all the cricket boards.

This year there has been a talk about fatigue around the IPL and that the TRPs are going down…

Data speaks for itself. In the JioStar report that came out recently, you can see the kind of attraction this year also. It’s been phenomenal. The digital reach has grown by 15% and TV reach has grown by 25%. The regional language watch time has increased by about 42% vis-a-vis last season. In between, there has been an odd off day. IPL has already crossed 1.1 billion views. Only based on the feedback, I can say that it’s been a phenomenal season and it will keep on going.

Increasing the number of matches has been discussed for a few years now…

The number of games can go up to 94 in case we have to have nine home and nine away games with the 10-team structure. But unfortunately, given the bilateral commitments that we have till 2027, there is no window or scope wherein we can increase the number of games. The idea was to increase it gradually from 74 to 84 and then to 94. But since we are tied up with so many events and bilaterals happening, it was not possible in this bilateral cycle. Hopefully when the next bilateral cycle gets planned, if we get a bigger window, then we may think of increasing the number of games.

Does it help with IPL franchises and Indian owners spreading their wings in other leagues? Are we headed towards the football way?

It all depends on what is the value that bilaterals would get in the coming cycle. Not only for BCCI but for other boards also. It is always the fan who drives the game. It all depends on who funds the game. If they find more value in leagues than bilaterals, then that shift would happen on its own. It is not my choice or somebody else’s choice. It is wherein the fans get more traction. That is what has happened over the years. Our franchises are also finding value. That is why we are committing that kind of investment in other leagues also.

Is that a good sign for IPL?

One has to fund the game. If you look at other boards, they prefer a bilateral series with India. India has been following that commitment despite Covid challenges for so many years. India can only commit maybe one or two bilaterals over a four-year period cycle. India can’t be going everywhere every year. If the revenue is only dependent on India and they are not finding that kind of value with other bilaterals, they can obviously monetize their game to run the cricket at the ground.

In a way, India as BCCI would want to create that value for them in bilaterals. If not, our franchises are doing that by becoming part of their leagues. Because it is not that just 2-3 countries can run the cricket across the globe. If the game has to grow, we have to have every country getting good value. If it is happening through these leagues, and our franchises are contributing there, I am happy with that.

There are apprehensions about the media rights valuation next year after the merger of Jio and Hotstar…

Just look at the valuations we have had for the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru wherein the request for stakes sale and new buyers coming in. If there were apprehensions about the valuation of the next media rights cycle, you wouldn’t have got the kind of valuations that have been predicted or given to both the teams. I am very hopeful that when we have the media rights cycle for the next five years, it is going to be much better than what we have as of now. It would go higher for sure, I am very confident.

There are reports that IPL’s market cap has declined. How do you define valuation of IPL?

Infinite. You can compare the valuations now with what the original value was in 2008. It has grown about 20x in the last 18 years. Can you name any business or any enterprise which has given you that kind of return? IPL is the No. 1 make- in-India brand. Bigger conglomerates like Mittals and Birlas have come in now. IPL is a commercial venture. Whosoever finds value in it, you would want to have a piece of it.

Can we see more teams in WPL soon?

It all depends on the pool of players available domestically and from overseas. Accordingly you can think of the number of teams. But after the World Cup win, with Harmanpreet Kaur leading the team, you have seen the kind of traction that has happened with WPL. If you go to a WPL game, you can’t really make out whether it is a men’s game or a women’s game. It has been a transformative moment for women’s cricket in India and across the globe.

Currently, WPL is played at two-three venues. Will there be a home-and-away format in WPL?

Since there are just five teams, that could become a tricky situation. There are a number of bilateral commitments lined up besides the number of ICC events. The window for women’s cricket that we have is very short. So logistically that is a challenge to have home and away. But we will see in case that adds more value to the WPL, we can do it going forward.

Could you talk about some franchises splitting their home matches between two venues?

It is according to the BCCI policy so that the game spreads across the length and breadth. BCCI only wanted them to take one more ground besides their home ground. They have been doing this for a long time. Punjab Kings have been playing IPL games in Dharamshala since 2010. Similarly, RCB had a couple of games at Raipur this year and they have had phenomenal experience. Same with Rajasthan Royals, they had Guwahati as an additional home ground and they are very happy about it. It helps the franchises to generate more gate money.

Is there any plan to make it consistent across franchises so that you don’t end up with some playing all seven home matches at one venue and others are shuttling between cities?

Name a team which is winning all seven games at home. It does not matter. They have to play and give their best under all the conditions and it is not that BCCI is forcing anybody. They want to venture out and play a game to increase their fan base also.