BCCI has lessons to learn from ICL errors

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: After Dhoni’s India proved punters wrong to win the maiden ICC 20-Twenty World Cup in South Africa, the new over-specific format caught the fancy of millions at home, whetting their appetite for more of this swashbuckling version of the game. Even India Inc moved in fast to cash in on the T-20 fever that had gripped a nation where cricket is religion. Essel Group made the first move with its Indian Cricket League (ICL) that, however, has not delivered the big bang it had promised. Learning from Essel Group’s mistakes, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is stepping on the gas to make sure that its Indian Premier League (IPL) doesn’t go the ICL way.

As ICL gropes to figure out why the fizz has gone out of its T-20 tourney, sports marketer Percept Holdings’ joint managing director Shailendra Singh bandies a theory for this blink-and-miss. Says Shailendra Singh, “It’s an interesting situation with IPL. After India’s One-Day World Cup debacle at the Caribbean, Zee moved first with its concept of a cricket league, launching ICL. The cricket board responded with its own league called the IPL, and probably, even they didn’t know that T-20 had the potential to make it big at that point in time.”

Singh points out that, while ICL had the first-mover advantage, IPL took time in creating a business model and even got the backing of the ICC. It helped that the BCCI runs cricket in India. So, obviously the board has a better say on decisions and the kind of players being involved in the league. It can also access various cricket boards and international players, which meant that it got a better deal than ICL.

“ICL could not raise much money and hence, the quality of ‘cricketainment’ and the marketing was not up to the mark. Even the stadia where the ICL matches were played weren’t well-known. But BCCI will ensure that IPL matches are taken across the country to ensure attendance. Also, if you see the kind of monies that are being invested in IPL, it shows that the BCCI is doing something right,” explains Singh.