Lalit Modi forecasts a massive financial boom in the IPL, predicting young stars like Jacob Bethell could earn up to $16 million per season by 2030.

During an interview with Michael Vaughan on The Overlap, Modi used England's Jacob Bethell as a specific example of an "elite international player" who could reach these staggering valuation levels. Modi expects franchise player purses to rise to $100 million (approx. ₹932 crore) per season by 2030.He claims top players will make roughly $1 million per game.

Michael Vaughan named Bethell as a potential future star during the discussion, with Modi agreeing that such young talents could eventually command contracts worth ₹150 crore ($16M+) per season.Modi has predicted that top IPL players will earn between $15 million and $16 million per season by 2030.

Jacob Bethell’s impressive IPL statistics

While Modi’s prediction is a forward-looking estimate for 2030, Bethell is already establishing himself as a highly-valued young asset in the league. Bethell made his IPL debut in 2025 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and is currently part of their squad for the 2026 season. Across his career so far, he has played 2 matches, scoring 67 runs at an explosive strike rate of 171.79.

At 21 years and 186 days, he became the youngest overseas player to debut for RCB during their match against Delhi Capitals on April 27, 2025.He smashed his first IPL half-century (55 off 33 balls) against Chennai Super Kings at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, featuring 8 fours and 2 sixes.Due to his high strike rate and "X-factor" potential, RCB retained him for the 2026 season for ₹2.60 crore.