RPSG Group’s Rs 7,090-cr bid for Lucknow IPL team will prove to be a ‘good buy’: Sanjiv Goenka

RP-Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka, during an exclusive interview with India Today TV, has said the RPSG Group's winning bid worth Rs 7,090 crore for the Lucknow IPL (Indian Premier League) team isn't only just out of passion but he thinks over a period of 10 years it's going to prove a “good buy”.

 

"Firstly, you invest a few crores for passion, you don't invest hundreds of crores for passion. Secondly, what I have to pay to the BCCI eventually is the difference between what I get from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) by way of broadcast rights etc etc and what I have to pay to them by way of licence fees."

 

IPL 2022: Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group gets Lucknow franchise for Rs 7,090 crore.
Watch Sanjiv Goenka’s #exclusive conversation with @rahulkanwal#IPL2022 #IPLLucknow #SanjivGoenka pic.twitter.com/VmMAOxEgvM

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) October 25, 2021

Goenka said the net difference, based on the company's calculations, is close to half of Rs 7,000 crores over 10 years. "So, my outgo in terms of equity to the new venture is about half of this amount," he said.

 

On the skyrocketing valuations of IPL teams, Goenka said if investments are managed well, their values appreciate. Talking about Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani's investment to buy Mumbai Indians for $111.9 million back in 2008 during the first IPL season, Goenka said: "Whatever RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani do, they do it with style and its value appreciates. They know how to spot investments and they manage well. They know how to create value out of that."

 

On the lessons learnt from his previous stint with an IPL team and players who'll be onboarding the new Lucknow team, Goenka said: "Sports teaches you that winning and losing is part of the game. You win some and you lose some. So don't get over-excited with victories and don't get over disappointed with losses."

 

 

He pointed out that "everyone wants the best of the best players because the existing franchise will have the right to retain some players that they have. So key best players will be retained by existing franchises. So, we have to make do with what we have."

 

On the significance of having a Lucknow team, Goenka said personally he is "excited as UP is the biggest state of the country" and that he believes there's a huge population in the state who's waiting for a chance.

 

"We do have operations there. We run a power distribution business in Greater Noida. We run retail stores. So, we are excited about the team," he said.

 

The Governing Council of the IPL had issued an invitation to tender to acquire the right to own and operate two new IPL franchises. BCCI today announced that RPSG Ventures Ltd won the bid for the Lucknow IPL team at Rs 7,090 crore, while Irelia Company Pte Ltd (CVC Capital Partners) won the bid for Ahmedabad at Rs 5,625 crore.

 

The new franchises will participate in IPL from 2022 season onwards, subject to the bidders completing the post-bid formalities. So, the IPL 2022 season will comprise 10 teams and will have 74 matches, wherein each team will play 7 home and 7 away matches.Back in 2010 too, the IPL edition featured 10 teams, with new additions of Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala before they were terminated.