New Delhi, March 25 -- The recent sale of two big IPL franchises - RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and RR (Rajasthan Royals) - has given massive returns to their early investors, somewhat comparable to top-quartile private equity deals in startups. In the initial days when IPL started off, some argued about the value proposition of these IPL teams, saying they were for brand visibility and balance-sheet indulgence.

But the bets on RCB and RR seem to have proven otherwise.

If we look at the IPL franchise journey over the last 15-18 years, the business acumen starts to emulate private equity or growth-stage investing, which is an underwritten asset class, followed by a period of scepticism, then the gradual revenue visibility and finall...