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From cricket to rugby — GMR Sports has invested heavily across various sporting disciplines in recent years. Having owned the Delhi Capitals since the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, the corporate giant recently acquired English county Hampshire in a landmark move.
Now, as it looks to revolutionise rugby through the ongoing Rugby Premier League (RPL), GMR Sports CEO Satyam Trivedi spoke to Sportstar about why the group has invested in rugby and shared his thoughts on the road ahead.
GMR Sports has long been a major investor in cricket. But over the years, it has also expanded into other disciplines — including kabaddi. What was the idea behind investing in the Rugby Premier League?
Anything outside cricket in India takes time to grow. If you’re getting into the business of sport — especially properties outside India — you need patience. We entered this league with that mindset. But why rugby?
When we looked at our internal strategy, we created a framework. We analysed all the leagues launched in recent years, particularly post-IPL. Many came and went. A few succeeded; most did not. We noticed some patterns — for example, team sports generally fared better than individual ones.
India has many popular individual sports played across every street and household. But when commercialised as leagues, they often failed. From a viewer’s perspective, people are more inclined to watch team sports on television. That was one criterion.
Secondly, we observed that some leagues in India failed because they couldn’t attract top global talent. The IPL survived — and thrived — because it secured a dedicated window and featured the best players in the world. Today’s youth are impatient. They want the best, instantly — and with a single click, they can watch it.
So, we wanted to ensure that wherever we invest, there is a clear window for global participation.
Next came the popularity of the sport. Rugby may not be widely commercialised in India, but it is played. On the first day of RPL, we saw plenty of passionate fans in attendance. Rugby is played in over 250 districts across India. Globally, it’s seen as an aspirational, premium sport.
In some parts of the world, it’s played in private schools while football is played in public ones. But in India, rugby cuts across these divides — boys in Mumbai and those in rural areas alike are familiar with the sport.
Rugby has attracted top global brands. Over the past three weeks, we’ve onboarded more than 17 partners — including HSBC, Hero FinCorp, and GSW Cement. Visually, from a TV standpoint, it looks fantastic.
We’ve received great feedback from stakeholders in international rugby and from Indian viewers — it’s entertaining on the ground, a strong TV product, and ticks all the boxes.
It’s not as if rugby randomly came our way and we said, “Okay, let’s do it.” We had a clear, structured framework. And rugby fit it.
We believe we have the right partners — franchise owners, broadcasters, stakeholders. If we promote it properly and stick to our long-term vision, this league can thrive. That’s the belief behind our investment.
GMR has been around since the inception of the IPL. Its expansion across sports has been consistent. Could you share a bit more about your broader plans in this space?
Over the past year, we’ve made major investments — including acquiring Hampshire and participating in The Hundred. We now have a full plate. It’s more about managing what we already have.
Our cricket portfolio is strong — the men’s Delhi Capitals in the IPL, the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League, the Legends League, Dubai Capitals in ILT20, Seattle Orcas in MLC, and now Southern Brave in The Hundred and Hampshire. Hampshire alone operates five teams across formats.
Opportunities will keep emerging. People know GMR is serious about sport as a core business vertical. Anyone looking to partner with a large, committed organisation is likely to come to us. We’ll keep evaluating new opportunities — but for the next year, our priority is to consolidate and focus on what’s already on our plate.
Our calendar is packed — IPL, RPL, PKL, The Hundred, ILT20. Our teams are engaged year-round.
With so many teams across different verticals, how do you prioritise investments?
Fortunately, our investments are staggered across distinct windows. For instance, once our operations team wraps up one league, they transition to the next. The same applies to marketing and sponsorship teams — every vertical has a role to play across the calendar.
Many sports companies manage only one league, followed by an off-season spent planning. But for us, there’s no real off-season. We’re active all year round. We’ve also scaled our internal team accordingly — adding members so existing staff can take necessary breaks.
Occasionally, some events clash — say, the Asian Games might overlap with PKL — but we adapt. For example, kabaddi will adjust its window if required. Internally, we’ve built capabilities to manage multiple properties simultaneously.
Academies play a crucial role in the franchise model. DC has had grassroots initiatives in cricket. Do you see GMR investing in high-performance centres for multiple sports?
That’s central to our philosophy. In kabaddi, there are 12 teams. Ask Mashal Sports which ones are genuinely doing grassroots work year-round, and GMR will be among the few.
While most kabaddi franchises only hire coaches for the season, our coaches are full-time — managing the academy, scouting, and player development.
We have academies in Noida. And this is fundamental to how we operate — whether it’s kabaddi, cricket, or now rugby.
It’s not just about league-level investment. Without grassroots academies running throughout the year, without developing young talent internally, it’s an incomplete vision. Our model is about creating national heroes from within our system.
Today, our grassroots work aligns directly with our investments — cricket academies in India, Dubai, and the UK; kabaddi in Noida; and plans for a rugby high-performance centre, which we’ll announce soon.
We’re also evaluating multi-sport facilities — some focused on performance, others more recreational. Multi-sport hubs are very much on our radar.
Was acquiring Hampshire a game-changer for Indian cricket and for GMR?
We’re incredibly proud of what we’re doing in the UK — the birthplace of cricket. To be the first Indian investor at the county level, and to have such a wide scope within that ecosystem, is deeply exciting.
With increasing privatisation, the UK market holds great potential. So far, that space hadn’t been opened up. Now that it has, we see tremendous commercial and sporting opportunity.
With so many franchises — including Hampshire — do you anticipate staff or talent exchanges across countries?
It’s not just about the players — it’s also about the coaches, the marketing team, and the operations team. We’ve created dedicated workstreams across these functions. The marketing teams collaborate, the sports teams collaborate, and so do the operations teams. There’s a consistent sharing of best practices across all our investments — both in India and abroad.
This represents a great opportunity for everyone involved. Across the ecosystem, there’s genuine excitement about learning, working across geographies, and collaborating more deeply. It’s a unique position for us to be in.
With new leagues emerging frequently, how does GMR stay competitive and relevant?
Each league caters to a distinct audience. Kabaddi fans differ from cricket fans. Audiences in the UK, US, and India all have unique preferences. When assessing opportunities, we evaluate them independently — what’s the audience, what’s the growth potential?
It’s a simple but focused approach.
Looking ahead, do you think anything needs to be done differently over the next five years?
Over time, we’ve developed strong in-house competencies — and now we want to leverage them across our other investments.
In the process, we’re also learning a great deal. For example, some of the strength and conditioning (S&C) and medical protocols in rugby are extremely robust. We’ve been very impressed with how World Rugby operates and the standards it has in place. Now, the question is — can we apply those learnings to kabaddi, which is equally a physical sport?
These are the kinds of opportunities we’re looking to harness. Synergising them across our portfolio is the key.
