Down, But Not Out

Changing ownership, stampede after maiden title win in 2025 mar RCB's valuation, but it may only be a matter of time before the team and the league turn around

- KATHAKALI CHANDA

"CRICKET OFTEN LEAVES YOU scratching your head," former cricketer Jimmy Anderson had once said. The English pacer might have been referring to the glorious uncertainties of the game, but the sentiment resonates just as strongly off the field. Especially now, when the valuations of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the richest T20 franchise league in the world, are sliding while that of two of the marquee franchises have recorded double-digit dips.

According to a report released on December 9 by Brand Finance, a global valuation consultancy, the league’s brand value in 2025 stands at $9.6 billion, a steep 20 percent year-on-year decline in a season in which it has generated over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs in India alone. The downturn, said to have been caused by restive geopolitics like Operation Sindoor, spans nearly every franchise, with the Gujarat Titans (GT) that has seen a marginal rise of 2 percent being the only exception. The slide echoes an earlier D&P Advisory report, which estimated that the league’s value in 2025 was down by around 8 percent.

What's worse, 2025 saw crowd favourites Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) post double-digit drops in brand value. CSK’s 24 percent decline (to $93 million) is perhaps unsurprising after a turbulent campaign marked by a mid-season captaincy change and a finish at the bottom of the table. RCB, however, is the anomaly: While it climbed a spot in the ranking, swapping places with CSK to reach No 2, its brand value ($105 million) fell 10 percent despite the team winning the tournament for the first time in history. Some of this, says Ajimon Francis, the managing director of Brand Finance India, can be attributed to the stampede that ensued during the team’s victory parade outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, killing 11.