19 years on, is IPL still too big to fail? Sharda Ugra answers

19 years on, is IPL still too big to fail? Sharda Ugra answers

From Two by Two (Private) by The Ken

April 2, 2026 · 1h 10m · Episode 83

About this episode

The episode discusses the current state and future of the IPL with insights from cricket journalist Sharda Ugra.

"This is our Frankenstein. We made it. And now it's left the room." A cricketer said this about the IPL and our guest, Sharda Ugra, India's most respected cricket journalist with thirty years of covering the game, brought it to our studio. And honestly, we couldn't think of a better way to open this episode. Last week, RCB and Rajasthan Royals sold for nearly $3 billion combined. With private equity in the building, it looks like the IPL has never looked bigger, richer or more untouchable. But something is off. The broadcaster paid $6 billion for rights and is bleeding $2 billion. On the other hand, the media rights that fund 80% of every franchise's revenue are projected to flatline and the most perfect advertiser IPL ever had, real money gaming, just got banned. So we did what any sensible person would do and called Sharda. In what was honestly one of the most electric studio sessions we've had on Two by Two , Sharda brought 18 years of institutional memory while Praveen Gopal Krishnan brought the business lens and Rahel Philipose asked every question you'd want to ask if you had Sharda across from you for 90 minutes. The IPL cannot fail. But can it figure out how to succeed…

People in this episode

Guest: Sharda Ugra

Topics covered

  • IPL
  • cricket journalism
  • private equity
  • media rights
  • sports business

Keywords

  • IPL
  • Sharda Ugra
  • private equity
  • media rights
  • sports business
  • cricket

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: RCB, Rajasthan Royals, IPL, India Today, The Ken, real money gaming

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