Tata Retains IPL Title Rights Until 2028

image-lrkshwvhIPL (X.com)

The BCCI recently put up Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsorship rights for the upcoming five-year cycle on sale, and despite Aditya Birla Group making a whopping bid, predecessor Tata Sons are most likely to retain the prized rights.

In December, the BCCI issued a tender for IPL title sponsorship rights for the forthcoming five-year cycle, i.e., from 2024 to 2028. Tata Sons previously enjoyed the rights. However, their contract concluded at the end of the IPL 2023 season.

Thus, the Indian cricket board sought fresh tenders accordingly. However, the board issued a long list of guidelines that barred numerous companies and firms from participating in the bidding contest.

As per the rules, China-based firms, alcohol manufacturing products, and betting apps were asked to stay miles away from this tender proceedings. Moreover, the board encouraged the homegrown companies to take an interest and make IPL more inclusive.


Tata To Remain IPL Title Sponsors?

Having said that, the deadline to place a bid concluded earlier this week, and as per multiple rumors, Aditya Birla Group was leading the race with a whopping bid of Rs 500 crores per year, which accumulated to Rs 2500 crores for the five-year cycle.

However, in an interesting twist in the tale, predecessor Tata Sons was allowed an exclusive right-to-match clause. As per the preset condition, Tata has the authority to match the winning bid and retain the title sponsorship rights accordingly.

The giant firm had until Friday to decide, and as per TOI, Tata Sons indeed matched the offer and is likely to bag the IPL title sponsorship rights for the next five-year cycle. It’s important to note that Tata Sons paid Rs 670 crores for the last couple of IPL seasons. That means the current bid is much lower, which allowed the firm to match the bid comfortably. 

Besides, for the next cycle, the BCCI plans to extend the IPL seasons. Apparently, the current plan is to have 74 matches in 2024, 84 matches from 2025-26, and 94 games in 2027.