Family, states, and the networks of sport

Why this year's IPL cricket player auction is taking place in Saudi Arabia

On November 24th and 25th, Indian Premier League cricket’s annual player auction will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It is not the first time the auction has taken place overseas, last year it was held in Dubai.

There is an inevitability about the IPL’s targeting of the Persian Gulf; not only are its countries resource rich and spending on sport, significant South Asian diasporas also live and work in the region.

However, the location for this year’s auction is especially significant.

Saudi Aramco is the kingdom’s biggest company; it is owned by the state and partly by the country’s sovereign wealth fund - the Public Investment Fund.

Until recently, it was a sponsor of the IPL.

PIF has been charged by government with taking a leading role in Saudi Arabia’s growing sports investment portfolio.

Rumours abound that PIF is seeking a presence in cricket, stories suggesting that it will buy a franchise, take a shareholding in the sport, or perhaps even buy the IPL outright.

Whatever the outcome of such aspirations, investing in cricket would be consistent with PIF’s sports investment strategy - investing in commercially immature assets that nevertheless have a global footprint.

The recent staging of cricket’s Men's T20 World Cup in the United States and the sport’s newly secured Olympic status help underscore Saudi ambitions.

However, it is important also to remember that Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, sits on the board of India’s biggest company - Reliance Industries, a conglomerate.

Reliance Industries is owned by the Ambani Family, Mukesh Ambani is its chairman and managing director.

Ambani has a major presence in cricket - he owns an IPL franchise as well as cricket franchises in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Reliance owns a telecommunications business, Jio, in which Saudi Arabia’s PIF is invested.

In 2023, a Jio platform broke the world record for the most concurrent views of a live-streamed event - IPL finale between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.

Speculation continues that PIF and Saudi Arabia are examining investment opportunities in sports media and broadcasting.

This year’s IPL player auction is not the usual annual formality, it is a node in a much bigger network of family and state interests.

As such, it seems likely that it will be a prelude to further developments in cricket that will see both Saudi Arabia and the Ambani family increasing their hold over the sport.