The Indian Premier League is big business for everyone involved.
Not only do players stand to pocket a substantial salary for two months' work, the entire cricket ecosystem in the country goes into overdrive during the early summer months.
Gate revenue from sold-out games, significant expenditure from advertisers during matches and palpable impact on local economy make the IPL an event unlike any other; the city of Bengaluru witnessed a major boost to the economy for their opening match of the season with record air travel and hotel bookings registered.
The IPL's total brand value is reported to be close to $20 billion, driven largely by its $6bn broadcast deal. Two franchises - Bengaluru and Rajasthan - were recently sold for around $1.8b each, highlighting the financial might of the league.
Holding all of it together is a simple formula - two months of non-stop cricket with the best players at prime time, during a period where there is no major international cricket anywhere in the world.
The value of each IPL match, therefore, is very high. And if there is a washout, the losses are significant.
This week, India witnessed unusually rainy weather throughout the country, which has affected matches.
The clash between Punjab and Kolkata at Eden Gardens got washed out, while the match between Rajasthan and Mumbai also came close to getting called off before an 11-overs-a-side match was completed.
When an IPL match is called off, the impact is felt beyond the points table.
What is the value of an IPL match?
There are 74 matches in each IPL season. With the media rights valued at $6bn for five years, each match comes to about $13-14 million.
That is the amount broadcasters pay to the IPL. They recover the amount by way of regular advertisement breaks, which reportedly brings in around $10m. No match means next to no advertising revenue for the match.
Gate revenue, depending on venue capacity, is above or below the $1m mark per match. The cost of hosting a match, including stadium hosting costs and other expenses, is reported to be around $1.5m.
According to estimates, each IPL match is worth around 1.5 billion rupees (around $16m).
Viewership figures
What drives the IPL machinery is the massive viewership that is almost guaranteed for all matches.
Bengaluru's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad attracted a total viewership of over 400 million, while the opening weekend matches had a combined watch-time of 32.6 billion minutes across platforms.
These numbers are largely maintained for the duration of the league, and peak during marquee matches.
According to IPL creator Lalit Modi, the next broadcast rights cycle will be worth more than the current $6bn deal and expects the Board of Control for Cricket in India to return to a complete home and away calendar. Currently 10 teams play 74 matches; there should be 94 if all teams play each other home and away, plus the play-offs.
The current length of the tournament is already substantial and adding more matches will require multiple double-headers and more day matches.
A change in the structure of the league or a separate window will likely unlock more opportunities for the tournament.
