Whatever spin they may want to give it, the Indian Cricket League (ICL) will not survive,? thumps Anirban Das, vice-president of Globosport, a celebrity management agency. Das is not alone in ringing the death-knell for the Subhash Chandra promoted ICL, which came into being last year. When conceptualised, the league was supposed to break the Board of Control for Cricket in India?s (BCCI) monopoly over cricket. But, since ICL?s first series in December 2007, the dynamics have changed completely.
While BCCI?s pressure on players to refrain from playing for ICL remains, its professional Twenty20 league, Indian Premier League (IPL), launched as an answer to ICL, has become one of the biggest phenomenon to have hit the cricketing world in a long time. In these troubled times, ICL has launched its second series and has even signed a title sponsor Edelweiss Capital. It will now be called Edelweiss 20s Challenge. This time around ICL will be held at three locations in India and will have two more teams added to its portfolio of six. But will it survive under the onslaught of BCCI and its IPL?
With IPL earning big corporate money and unprecedented attention (companies like Reliance Industries have shelled out to the tune of $111.9 million for the Mumbai team), there seems to be little enthusiasm left for Chandra?s ICL. Anita Nayyar, CEO, MPG group, a media-buying agency, is of the opinion that IPL?s popularity has clearly overshadowed ICL.
?Vis-?-vis ICL, IPL has gained more exposure and is a far more attractive deal. The sentiment is higher on the IPL side since the involvement of corporates and celebrities is huge. They are lending it a serious image,? she says. Nayyar goes on to say that though ICL has managed a few more advertisers, it still has to find its feet for advertisers to look at it more keenly.
While the first series of ICL held at Panchkula got four/five sponsors like Provogue, Sabmiller and Cotton County, this year it is trying to get 12-13 sponsors, according to Himanshu Modi, business head of ICL. Though Zee officials have declined to reveal the size of their deal with Edelweiss, industry sources peg the figure at close to Rs 20 crore. Moreover, this time the series will be telecast on Ten Sports (Zee owns a majority stake in it) apart from Zee Sports. Stating these facts, Modi says that ICL?s second series is bigger in every which way.
However, despite the spruced up act, the going for ICL continues to be tough. The cricket boards of many countries are warning players to either disassociate from ICL or face a ban. On being asked if the launch of IPL has made things more difficult for ICL, Ashish Kaul, executive vice-president of Essel Group (owners of Zee and ICL) retorts, ?When have people not made things difficult for Zee?? Despite repeated attempts, IPL could not be reached for a comment.
ICL may not be batting on a level playing field but Kaul is confident that they are on the right track. Since its inception, ICL is being pitched as a form of cricket, which will boost the domestic cricket talent in the country. ?Indian cricketers are one of the most prominent players in the world, and are successful and expensive. The Indian cricket board is the richest in the world. But there is hardly anything in the name of domestic cricket,? opines Kaul.
But, people like Globosport?s Das remain unconvinced. ?The talk of reviving domestic cricket is all marketing jargon. TV channel guys can?t do it, only BCCI is equipped to do that,? he says.
Though ICL matches are played only in three cities as of now, Kaul says that the process of expansion of teams and cities will continue. With India?s former captain and fast bowling legend Kapil Dev as the chairman of its executive board, the league boasts of players like Inzamam ul Haq, Brain Lara, Craig Mcmillan, Chris Harris, Marvan Attapatu, Chris Cairns, Damien Martyn, etc.
?We will not only give it more exposure in our effort to internationalise domestic cricket, but will also put it at par in terms of technology and entertainment,? says Kaul. ICL has been positioning itself as manna for the entertainment starved and cricket enthusiastic nation and added a healthy dose of celebrity, song and dance and food in its last series.
But even in terms of entertainment, it has been served a big blow by IPL. With Bollywood icons like Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta jumping in, IPL entertainment quotient has upped. ?ICL is a non-starter. There are structural issues with it. It is a sub-standard product to BCCI?s offering,? Das is quick to add. On the other hand, ICL officials have been branding IPL as over-hyped. They say it won?t be able to sustain itself in the long run, though it is currently awash with money. ?It is like a inter-corporate match between the Mallyas and the Ambanis,? quips Kaul.
While some industry watchers like Das have written it off, others like Nayyar feel ICL will have to do something dramatic to continue living. But all is not lost for it. ?There is room for opportunity. Advertisers who don?t have the financial muscle to associate themselves with IPL might just align with ICL,? says Sanjay Kacker, COO, Percept D?Mark, a leading sports marketing agency.
As far as viewership is concerned, Kacker feels that in India cricket is
a religion and watching your favourite stars play in a stadium is a big high. ?People will definitely go to watch a Brian Lara or a Inzamam ul Haq play for ICL as much as they will like to watch a Sachin Tendulkar or a Ricky Ponting in action at IPL,? he adds.