How sands have shifted in India’s sports landscape

It was a year of sharp contrasts for Indian sport—marked by on-field success in cricket and marquee hosting ambitions, but also by mounting concerns over valuations, media rights and administrative failures.

Cricket dominated on the field and in business as Team India scored crucial international wins, including a maiden victory in the Women’s World Cup this year.

For once, India’s sportswomen were in the spotlight for their performance and brand deals. Will such wins translate to long-term value for women in sports in India? Perhaps, but so far, winning has not done too much for women in other sports save some notable exceptions (read more here).

Year 2025 also saw cricket valuations come into focus.

Diageo began talks to sell Royal Challengers Bengaluru as several suitors, including vaccine maker Adar Poonawalla said they may bid for the team (read more here).

Valuation firms such as D&P Advisory estimated that the value of the IPL and the WPL had declined.

JioStar reportedly asked for an exit from ICC media rights even as Dream11 was forced to exit its contract as BCCI’s jersey sponsor following a ban on real-money gaming.

Concerns around cricket media rights will dominate conversations in 2026, especially as the T20 World Cup begins in February this year.

Meanwhile, after a bevy of international sporting tournaments in India this year, the country also won the bid to host the centenary Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad in 2030. This may strengthen India’s bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics as well.

However, while Team India performed well in some sports, especially para-athletics and boxing, it did little this year in others such as badminton and tennis.

In late December, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made history as the first men's doubles pair to qualify for semi-finals in the Badminton World Federation's 2025 tour in China. They ended with a bronze medal.

In particular, the All India Football Federation's (AIFF’s) inability to conduct this year’s Indian Super League has been a blot on the country’s sporting administration.

Several football clubs have become defunct because they do not have money to pay their players or staff (read more here). Will the AIFF finally get its act together in 2026? For now, the prognosis is not looking good.