Arun Dhumal, the Indian Premier League chairman, was delighted with the tournament’s riches being passed on to dozens of domestic uncapped players who hogged the limelight during Tuesday’s Player Auction in Abu Dhabi.

He spoke to Sports stars about all things to the league.

Excerpts

Q. What does the fat purse for a plethora of domestic uncapped players mean?

A: It is great for the game. It gives a lot of motivation and inspiration to all youngsters, who hit the ground running with this passion and dream in mind that they will get to play for Team India at some point in time.

So, I think whatever we were wanting to achieve with this auction, we have got it.

The kind of reward that Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma got is phenomenal, unimaginable, and unprecedented. Going forward, it will give a lot of motivation to all the youngsters.

If you also look at (Matheesha) Pathirana getting ₹18 crore, that is the highest for any Sri Lankan so far. And for a bowler, Aquib Nabi Dar from J&K getting more than ₹8 crore is a phenomenal achievement.

The domestic leagues have helped promote State talent, which has in turn helped the league scouts pick players. It falls in line with the IPL tagline: “Where talent meets opportunity.”

Do you think the state leagues are contributing immensely to the growth of IPL?

No other country has such a strong domestic structure. The kind of infrastructure that we have been able to create across the length and breadth of this country has led to this.

All the State associations are working hard to maintain the grounds and provide the required infrastructure to all these youngsters. That has resulted in the kind of bench strength that we have today. Even if we have to play three countries at the same time, we have the pipeline to take care of that.

What role does the BCCI or a franchise have in managing youngsters who go for big money in the auction?

Besides the exposure that they get when they meet with the best of the best in Indian and world cricket in those dressing rooms, a lot of learning also comes along with the fortunes that they are earning.

In this auction, Venkatesh Iyer, who got more than ₹23 crore last time around, got ₹7 crore, so this game is a great equaliser.

They would have seen the examples themselves. There have been instances in the past when a few stars got a huge amount in the auction, but if the discipline and commitment were not there, they would be nowhere to be seen. That’s a lesson for all these youngsters.

READ: IND vs SA, 5th T20I Preview: India looks to close out South African visit with series win

Our responsibility is to provide them with the opportunity, and I think when they get this opportunity, they learn a lot. You can’t handhold everybody in that sense, but definitely we also have a role to play, and whatever role we need to fulfill as far as mentoring these young minds is concerned, we will surely look into it.

Many fans keep asking, why should the IPL auction be held overseas?

One, because at times it is very difficult for the BCCI to organise a venue given the marriage season is in full flow (at this time of the year). You are aware that at this time of the year, a lot of bilateral matches are played in India, so we had to fix the schedule accordingly. We tried hard to look for a venue in India, but unfortunately, with the number of hotel rooms that were required, we were not able to manage.

We had the WPL auction in India. We would have loved to have the IPL auction over here as well. But the IPL is a global league now—it is the second-most valuable league in the world—it doesn’t matter whether we have it in India or overseas because we have to look at the convenience and comfort of all the franchise owners and stakeholders. And there is a lot of demand and requirement from all these countries that you must conduct at least the auction in their country. It is our responsibility also to grow cricket across the globe. In that direction also, it is a good step, giving them an opportunity to host the IPL auction.

Now that you are in your fourth year as the IPL chairman, considering the brand it has evolved into, can you spell out a roadmap for the next five years?

Definitely, we will keep growing at this pace, and I would like that momentum to grow further. As you would have seen in the last 18 years, we have seen the valuation of each franchise grow more than 20-fold from the initial value.

If you look at the first media rights auction and compare the figures of the first five years to this cycle, it has grown by about 18 times. If you look at the sponsorship value, it has increased by 600 per cent, so there is no other sport across the globe that has had this kind of growth trajectory.

ALSO READ: Shubman Gill reaches Ahmedabad for fifth T20I against South Africa amid injury concerns

I am very hopeful of the kind of successful games that we are organising. The core of this is the quality of cricket that IPL has produced. It has given the best of moments for all our fans to cheer and love. Every ball is an event, and I am sure with the kind of cricket that we are delivering, it is going to grow manifold in the future.

With a shrinking broadcast ecosystem in Indian sports, how confident are you that the broadcasting revenue will escalate for the next cycle, post IPL 2027?

I am very confident. You might be thinking that it is shrinking, but I am very confident that it is going to explode further. Whatever value we had got in the last media auction, mark my words, we are going to get better than that.

Published on Dec 18, 2025