In conversation with Editor Ankur Sharma, The News Strike, Kapil Baheti and Alisha Baheti of Maratha Royals said the franchise is being positioned as a long-term sports IP rather than a seasonal cricket team, with a focus on scalable talent development, diversified revenue streams, and hyperlocal fan engagement. Following their T20 Mumbai League 2025 title win, the leadership highlighted structural gaps in India’s grassroots cricket ecosystem, particularly across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, while outlining plans to build institutionalised scouting pathways, deeper academy networks, and sustainable sports business models that integrate cricket, media, lifestyle, and community-led brand building.
MSC Maratha Royals X The News Strike
1. After winning the T20 Mumbai League 2025, how are you thinking about Maratha Royals as a long-term sports business asset beyond on-field success?
Kapil Baheti:
Winning the T20 Mumbai League is a strong validation, but our vision for Maratha Royals goes far beyond on-field success. We are building this as a long-term sports IP, not a seasonal team.
"We are building Maratha Royals as a long-term sports IP, not just a winning team."
Led on the field by Siddhesh Lad, who continues as captain after a title-winning season, the franchise combines cricketing continuity with a long-term business vision. Coming from a group that operates across infrastructure, media, and lifestyle, we approach sport with the same discipline focusing on systems, scalability, and sustainable value creation. The opportunity lies in building a platform that integrates talent development, fan engagement, and brand partnerships, creating an asset that compounds in relevance and long-term value.
2. What structural gaps did you identify in India’s grassroots cricket ecosystem, and how is Maratha Royals building a scalable talent pipeline from Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets?
Alisha Baheti:
The biggest gap in Indian cricket isn’t talent, it's structure and access. There is immense depth across maidans, district circuits, and Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, but pathways are often fragmented and inconsistent.
With Maratha Royals and Raigad Royals, we are building a more institutionalised pipeline, one that identifies talent early, provides consistent exposure, and nurtures players within a high-performance environment. This includes structured scouting, local trials, and deeper engagement with club and academy networks to ensure continuity in development. Importantly, this spans both men’s and women’s cricket, because a strong ecosystem has to be inclusive and built for scale.
3. With increasing celebrity ownership in franchises, how do you differentiate Maratha Royals in terms of brand, monetisation, and fan engagement strategy?
Kapil Baheti:
Celebrity ownership has helped bring visibility to leagues, but the next phase will be defined by how well franchises are built as businesses. Visibility can be created quickly, credibility and sustainability take time.
Our differentiation lies in bringing an operator’s mindset. We are building Maratha Royals as a structured, monetisable platform leveraging our experience across media, hospitality, and consumer brands to create deeper fan engagement and diversified revenue streams. It’s about building a franchise that is not just followed, but trusted and built to last.
4. How are you balancing commercial objectives (sponsorships, revenue streams) with grassroots investment and player development?
Alisha Baheti:
For us, this isn’t a trade-off, it's a flywheel. Strong grassroots investment builds better players, deeper fan connections, and greater authenticity, which in turn drives stronger commercial partnerships.
This approach is reflected both on and off the field from investing in structured talent pathways to backing impact players at the auction, including the franchise’s highest bid of ₹9.5 lakh for Chinmay Sutar. Across everything we build, the focus is on sustainable growth. At Maratha Royals, revenues and partnerships are aligned with talent development and community initiatives, ensuring that growth is not just driven by short-term performance but by long-term ecosystem value.
5. What is your vision for building Maratha Royals into a hyperlocal yet nationally scalable brand that drives both fandom and business growth?
Kapil Baheti:
Maratha Royals is deeply rooted in Mumbai’s cricketing culture and Maharashtrian pride, but the ambition is to scale that identity nationally.
With a strong presence across key parts of Mumbai and access to a powerful network of media, brands, and communities, we are building a platform where sport, lifestyle, and culture intersect. The goal is to create a brand that resonates locally, but evolves into a high-impact national sports IP driving both fandom and compounding business value.
