India’s parliament got a rare look at the cricket board’s funds and found that it had a balance of about $1.5 billion in the five years leading up to 2021-22.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) usually doesn’t share detailed information about its funds.
But it is known to be one of the most profitable ruling bodies in the world because India loves the game so much and there are often bidding wars over television rights.
On Tuesday, a government official told parliament about recent BCCI earnings, which showed that the company made $919 million and spent $370 million in the year leading up to March 2022, leaving a balance of $549 million.
It was the board’s biggest profit in the five years from 2017 to 2018. During that time, the board made $3.3 billion and spent $1.8 billion.
People often say that the BCCI makes all the decisions in world cricket because it is so rich compared to other national cricket boards.
ESPN Cricinfo says that between 2024 and 2027, the BCCI could make about $230 million per year, which is 38.5% of the International Cricket Council’s yearly earnings of $600 million.
Last year, the BCCI sold the television rights for the highly famous Indian Premier League Twenty20 event for a huge $6.2 billion.
The board recently put out a request for bids for media rights to its foreign and local games, which is likely to bring in another big profit.