When Shivam Dube walked into the inaugural T20 Mumbai League in 2018, he was another hard-hitting domestic cricketer trying to get noticed. One over, in which he smashed five sixes, changed everything. The innings catapulted him into the IPL, eventually earned him an India cap and became one of the earliest examples of how a regional T20 league could change a career almost overnight.
Today, nearly every state association in India wants its own Shivam Dube story.
Almost two decades after the Indian Premier League (IPL) transformed cricket into India's biggest sports business, another ecosystem is quietly taking shape beneath it. Across the country, state associations are turning regional T20 competitions into franchise-led sporting properties designed to achieve two objectives simultaneously: produce the next generation of IPL stars while creating commercially viable businesses through sponsorships, media rights, ticket sales and local fan engagement.
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The opportunity has grown alongside the IPL itself. According to Houlihan Lokey's 2025 IPL Valuation Study, the league's enterprise value climbed to $18.5 billion, while its standalone brand value rose to $3.9 billion. The report estimates that advertising revenues crossed $600 million during the season, while in 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) generated ₹1,485 crore from associate sponsorship rights alone.
As the IPL's commercial footprint expands, state associations increasingly believe there is room for another cricket economy—one built on regional identity rather than national franchises.
