Key facts
- Jake Lush McCrum, 33, is spearheading the launch of the Indian Basketball League (IBL).
- The IBL is scheduled to begin in 2027 with an initial six franchises, growing to ten.
- McCrum has prior experience in sports leadership, including with the IPL's Rajasthan Royals.
- India has the third-largest basketball playing population globally, with 55 million participants.
- The league's franchise model involves central ownership initially, with sales planned for year three.
- The IBL has already received 30 takeover bids from domestic and international entities.
City AM sat down with 33-year-old British executive Jake Lush McCrum, who is set to launch the Indian Basketball League (IBL) in 2027. McCrum, who has nearly a decade of senior sports leadership experience, previously helped relaunch the IPL's Rajasthan Royals franchise.
The IBL is slated to begin with six franchises and aims to expand to ten within a few years. McCrum highlighted the significant global and Indian context for the sport, noting that India has the third-largest basketball playing population in the world with 55 million participants, behind only China and the US.
He also pointed to the sport's popularity in private schools, a healthy gender split at the youth level, and an affluent audience profile similar to that of Indian Premier League viewers. The league's startup model is similar to English cricket's The Hundred, with teams centrally owned before being sold off in year three. McCrum anticipates lower valuations than The Hundred due to differing consumer spending power but noted that the franchises have already attracted 30 takeover bids from domestic and international organizations, including interest from Bollywood.
McCrum emphasized the need for proactive engagement with fans across India, drawing on his eight years of living in the country. He believes that basketball's faster format could appeal to a younger generation of Indian fans who are turning away from longer sports formats, potentially challenging the dominance of sports like kabaddi and cricket.