The Price of a Nameless Bid: Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and the Invisible Math of Franchise Tenders

When I sat down to leaf through a file of unaudited IPL tenders last season, one line caught me. A franchise had estimated a price for a young player in the 2026 auction nearly three times higher than what his actual performance data supported. The file called him a 'future asset.' Who is this future? At what price is a young man's mere name bought? That question is the most important one in Indian cricket today, and nobody wants to answer it.

I believe we are making a mistake in this new era of franchise tenders. We think that if we buy a young player at a higher price, he will play better. But the opposite is happening. At this moment, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and a cohort of new faces sit at the centre of India's franchise arithmetic. But behind them lies an economic reality I want to expose today.

In this analysis, I will not name players for whom I have no clear data. I will speak only of the math a franchise is willing to pay to buy a 'name.' This game of franchise tenders is now of interest even to Bangladeshi fans. In the many IPL auctions I have watched over five years — and I have the data — one pattern is unmistakable.

A New Era of Tendering in Indian Cricket

Since the 2026 mega-auction, a major shift has occurred in the Indian Premier League. Franchises no longer only buy stars at high prices; they have begun buying 'names.' The 2026 auction intensified this trend. Look: it does not matter to a franchise exactly how much a player performs. What matters is how big this player's name could become over the next three years.

Take Shubman Gill. The Ahmedabad franchise trusted him because he carried a 'homegrown' asset value. But analyse Gill's actual performance data. His strike rate was above 140 in the 2026 season, but his boundary percentage and powerplay strike rate were comparatively low. This is not criticism; it is a fact. If a franchise signs him for a large sum, that sum is not always based on his powerplay finishing. It is based on his 'future leadership' and 'brand value.'

Now let us move to the centre of this math.

When a franchise pays 20 million rupees for a young player at the 2026 auction, what happens? That 20 million is not the price of his performance. It is the price of his name.

In my experience, audiences in Bangladesh and Australia cannot grasp this distinction because they do not know that a secret formula operates behind franchise tenders. The formula is 'the name three years from now.' If a franchise buys this player today, his name will grow over the next three years, and they will profit from that surplus name value.

The Invisible Report of ICI Transfer Math

Last year, sitting in a Sydney studio putting together a segment on an India-Australia series, my colleague Simon said, 'Nahar, you don't know — the IPL is no longer just cricket, it's a hedge fund.' He was not entirely wrong. Franchises now invest in buying players the way a hedge fund buys shares.

The problem is that cricket's real value and market value do not always align. If a left-handed opener scores at a 150 strike rate in his first five matches but falls to 110 in the next five, does his market value drop? No, because the franchise is buying his 'potential,' not his 'present.'

This is why I believe the game of IPL tenders has now moved beyond cricket. Valuation is set by expectation, not performance.

Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant — they are all good. But when a cricketer receives 80 million rupees, that is not his desert but a franchise's guess.

In 2026 in Sydney I made a series called 'The Front Row.' That experience taught me that players are valued not only for their batting and bowling but for how much 'story' they can create. The market for this story is largest in the IPL.

Now let us turn to a young Bengali talent. I know a talent is developing in Bangladesh — I will not name him now, because he has no data. But if a franchise sets his price, it will not be based on his actual performance but on an 'inherited story.' The work of telling this inherited story is done by senior players.

This is where I want to offer my counter-intuitive argument.

Praise from Seniors: A Dangerous Tender Sheet

When players of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant's generation praise a youngster as one who 'will dominate Indian cricket,' it is not merely a sentence. It is a hidden tender. This tender is called the 'star-making machine.'

Over recent years I have observed that when senior players praise youngsters, the praise comes for two reasons. First, selfless affection. Second, franchise pressure. These reasons cannot always be separated.

When I read such news, I want to see: is there any statistic behind the praise? If not, then it is not sports information but an emotion.

Rishabh Pant's Words

Pant is an extraordinary player and a brilliant match-winner. But when he speaks about youngsters, one must ask — where are these words being said? On the field, or at a media event? This distinction matters.

But I see a big problem here. A new malaise has appeared in Indian cricket — the 'star-making machine.' In this machine, a young player is made a 'star' before his proper time. The result is mounting pressure, mounting workload, and eventual burnout.

I saw in the 2026 W-League Grand Final how a stadium lay empty, and how Melbourne City's player attacked in the 15th minute. In that moment I understood — a player's true value lies in his performance, not his name.

So the question is — what can young Bengalis learn from this franchise math?

The Indian Lesson of Franchise Math: For Young Bengalis

If Bangladeshi cricketers get opportunities in the IPL, this arithmetic matters for them. If a franchise wants to buy a Bangladeshi player, it may be for two reasons — one, his real talent; two, the Bangladesh market. Distinguishing between the two is essential.

I believe young Bangladeshi players should show their game, not their name. A 'name' can be manufactured through an agent, but a 'game' must be built on the field.

When I follow Bangladesh's domestic cricket news, I see — talent exists, but data does not. And without data, a franchise does not want to buy, because they want to buy a name, not a performance.

The solution to this problem is data. The Bangladesh Cricket Board and domestic leagues must produce accurate statistics — strike rate, powerplay access, six-hitting rate against spin, spin-friendliness of wickets. Without this information, a young Bangladeshi cricketer's value will never be properly determined.

Final Word: The Future of Franchise Math

In these five years I have learned that the arithmetic of franchise tenders never stays still. Whoever is bought today as a 'name' may become a 'burden' tomorrow. And the reverse can also happen.

But one thing I can say with certainty — a franchise that buys only names and not performance will lose in the long run. Because cricket is ultimately played on the field, trophies are lifted on the field, and math that exists only on paper collapses when it reaches the ground.

So at the end of this news item I want to say — the youngster whom Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are praising, I do not know his name. But I know what his price will be. That price will be — the sum of his actual performance, multiplied by the number of his franchise's patience. If the product of these two is zero, the price is also zero.

My question to Bangladeshi fans — do you want to buy a name, or a game? The field will answer.