Chennai Super Kings (CSK), one of IPL’s most successful franchises, has become the country’s first sports Unicorn with its market cap having touched a high of Rs 7,600 crores and its share in the grey market trading in the Rs 210-225 price band, ahead of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, which won its fourth IPL title in Dubai last year, now has a market cap more than its parent entity, India Cements. On Friday, India Cements’ market cap stood at Rs 6,869 crores.
Two key reasons which have led CSK’s market cap to go past its parent entity are the team winning its fourth IPL title in Dubai, and two new franchises being added to the upcoming season at record prices.
Chennai Super Kings(CSK) Became India’s First Sports Unicorn
The Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group bought the Lucknow franchise (Lucknow Super Giants) for Rs 7,090 crore, while CVC Capital acquired the rights for the Ahmedabad franchise for 5,625 crore.
N. Srinivasan, the managing director of India Cements and former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was quoted as saying on Friday that, “Brand CSK will outgrow Brand India Cements.
“If you look at the history of franchise-based leagues in the US, it will outgrow everything. Passion for cricket is so much in India. The road between countries will see franchise-based leagues getting precedence as we go along.”
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) holds a 6.04 per cent stake in the company while Ace investor Radhakishan Damani hold 2.39 per cent in the entity. It is notable that Chennai Super Kings is the only sports team in the country whose shares are available for public investment, and attracts interest due to their on-field performances.
The shares of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL), which controls CSK, had hit an all-time high in the unlisted market on October 26 last year, surging from Rs 110-120 per share to crossing the Rs 220-mark in trade within a week.
It brought CSKCL’s market cap to around Rs 7,000 crore, which was just Rs 500 crore short of making it to the Unicorn club and came just 11 days after they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the IPL final.
MS Dhoni Is In Chennai To Conduct Mock Auction to Prepare For IPL 2022 Mega Auctions In February 2022
Another factor that has contributed to the making of ‘Brand CSK’ is its unique fan following and the franchise-building of the team around its growing band of followers. Also, the fact that the side has hardly changed its core group in the last decade.
MS Dhoni is in Chennai before heading to Bengaluru for the mega auction slated for February 12 and 13. The franchise according to the available information will conduct a mock auction exercise and prepare themselves for the big days of mega auctions.
Chennai Super Kings head into the IPL 2022 mega auction with a purse value of 48 crores after the retention. The franchise retained Ravindra Jadeja (16 Crores), MS Dhoni (12 Crores), Moeen Ali (8 Crores) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 Crores) as in the process, they have tried to make up for at least one player in every department of the game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is their designated opener, while Moeen Ali can be used as a floater in the middle order. MS Dhoni will remain the leader of the side and also the finisher. With Ravindra Jadeja, they get a spinner, a finisher and an all-rounder.
The 24-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hails from Pune, was the leading scorer in the 2021 Indian Premier League after he amassed a staggering 635 runs and played a key role in Chennai Super Kings winning the title. He was the Orange Cap winner for scoring the most runs in IPL 2021 ahead of teammate fellow opener Faf du Plessis.