IPL has become one of the most popular events in the country. Over the years the popularity of the tournament has increased so much that it is no longer just a cricket match.

Billionaire industrialists, investors, and even actors from the Indian Film fraternity are the proud owners of the various teams. The auction is something that is anticipated every year and keeps even a common man fixated.

As per the recent news around the new IPL auction, Business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka and international equity investment firm Irelia Company Pte Limited (CVC Capital) have shelled out a combined Rs 12,715 crore (approx USD 1.7 billion) to win the bids for two new IPL teams. This exceeded BCCI’s expectations by a landslide.

Two new teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, have been added to the eight existing teams. For Lucknow, Sanjiv Goenka paid a whopping Rs 7,090 crore. Many speculators widely regard Team Lucknow as the least attractive in commercial terms.

The RPSG group had bid for Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Indore and had won the bid for the first two. Speaking with Cricbuzz, Goenka explained why he chose Lucknow above all others.

Goenka said, “We have operations in Uttar Pradesh. We do power distribution there. We have a very big presence in the northern state. Closer by in Chandigarh, we have the power distribution rights. So for North India, that becomes like a hinterland.”

Goenka explained that he will probably be paying only Rs. 3,500 crores in 10 years. This is because he will receive Rs. 3,500 crores from the BCCI from the broadcast rights.

He believes that in the next five years, he may get more from the BCCI. The net present value of that is ₹2,100 crore. This brings the actual value of the team to Rs 2100 crores which is surely not a bad deal.

As per Goenka’s foresight, he expects the team’s worth to grow more than Rs 10,000 crores in the next five years.