Reliance acquires a women’s IPL franchise as part of Mukesh Ambani’s expanding cricket empire

If the increasing interest in sports by Reliance Industries is any indication, it may be one of the most lucrative industries. With its most recent WPL acquisition, the Mumbai Indians brand now has four franchises.

Reliance Industries, which is run by Mukesh Ambani, has added another cricket franchise. For the first Women’s Premier League franchise based in Mumbai, the conglomerate has made an offer of Rs 912.99 crore through its subsidiary Indiawin Sports Private Limited (WPL). This makes it the fourth MI-branded franchise in the Reliance stable, following MI Cape Town (in the South Africa T20 League), MI Emirates, and Mumbai Indians (in the IPL) (in UAE International League T20).

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RIL Director Nita Ambani said in a statement that India’s women cricketers have always made the country proud in the international sporting arena, whether it is the World Cup, Asian Cup, or most recently the Commonwealth Games! The ability, strength, and potential of our ladies will once again be highlighted by this new Women’s League on a global scale.

Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, continued, “We look forward to seeing our women’s squad flourish and inspire future generations of female athletes as we bring the MI experience and best practices into the women’s game.”

Reliance has long had a passion for cricket. The oil-to-telecom company runs numerous franchises and also holds the rights to a number of well-known cricket tournaments, such as the IPL and the WPL (which will commence in March 2023). While RIL paid Rs 913 crore for its most recent cricket purchase, it is reported that the company forked out close to Rs 93 crore (via its subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures) for franchises in the South African and UAE leagues.

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The most expensive IPL franchise is the Mumbai Indians. Brand Finance, a company that values brands globally, valued MI at a staggering $1.3 billion in 2022. According to Forbes, this makes Mumbai Indians more valuable than six MLB teams, 27 NHL teams, and every MLS team combined. MI earnings were estimated to be in the range of $33 million. 

UAE T20 League Chairman Khalid Al Zarooni praised RIL’s growing involvement in the world of franchise cricket in a previous statement, saying, “RIL has the legacy with the proven track record in developing the most successful club in franchise cricket. The League’s partnership with a trailblazer like RIL shows how confident we are in our infrastructure and system to provide events of the highest caliber.

It’s interesting to see that Ambani is expanding his athletic career beyond cricket. Reliance Industries was thought to be the front-runner to make a bid for Liverpool of the English Premier League last year.

Along with the All India Football Federation, RIL also oversees the Indian Super League (ISL). Even the Indian Olympic Association and the Athletics Federation have ties to it.