If IPL extends its global reach, it will attract business tycoons from other parts of the world. Cricket can grow, without the help of Olympics, riding on the IPL bandwagon
In November 2008, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its English counterpart had a discussion about taking the Indian Premier League (IPL) to England and playing at least 15 matches there every year. The BCCI was represented by then IPL governing council member IS Bindra, who had put forward the proposal to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman, Giles Clarke. The plan didn?t materialise for some reason. IPL has never been free of controversy since its inception, but it has withstood the upheavals and has undergone changes. Lalit Modi, who was the BCCI?s chief power broker five years ago, is now a persona non grata in Indian cricket. Bindra has been sidelined. In 2008, IPL was in its infancy. Now, it has entered adolescence. The controversies notwithstanding, it has become stable as a tournament.
Back then, the overtures were made to extend IPL?s global reach as Modi?s committee wanted England to become India?s first partner. The idea was good, but the ECB was in a quandary about whether the deal would be financially lucrative enough as they had their own T20 plans. Modi?s committee couldn?t persuade them convincingly.
Circa 2013, IPL has arguably become the game?s biggest brand. India rules world cricket and the men who run the game in the country are intelligent and influential enough to make IPL a truly global product without the help of others. However powerful one might be, it always helps to be inclusive. The BCCI, too, needs ECB, Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) by its side to make cricket a global sport. There?s a school of thought, supported by many, that to make inroads beyond the Commonwealth countries, cricket needs to become an Olympic sport first.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognised cricket as a sports federation in 2007 and Olympic representation will allow the game to share a common global platform. Then again, it will not ensure success in terms of popularity in the non-cricket playing countries. All said and done, Olympics remain a milieu of the amateurs. Big sports like football, Formula One, tennis, golf, basketball and rugby are not unduly worried about the mileage they are getting from the Olympics. For football, Uefa Champions League and World Cup have always been the top two. Tennis and F1 thrive on the successes of the Grand Slams and Grand Prixs, respectively. Masters is the golfing pinnacle, while for basketball and rugby it?s the NBA and World Cup. These are the sports that enjoy huge fans? support. These are the sports that produce stars. Also, these are the sports that care very little about the Olympics.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is yet to decide whether it would be applying for the 2024 Olympics or not, but frankly, cricket, too, doesn?t need Olympics to venture into the uncharted territories. It needs IPL to reach those places.
NBA commissioner David Stern came to Mumbai a couple of weeks ago and watched an IPL game. Good signs that the Americans are getting interested. Already, there?s a proposal about starting a Twenty20 tournament in America that will have involvement from Hollywood stars. China and South Korea, too, now have their cricket teams. In fact, very soon a cricket stadium will come up in South Korea.
But rather than starting odd tournaments here and there, how about playing two IPLs a year? The first and the original one in India in April-May and the other on foreign shores where cricket is yet to make an impact. The second one can be played at the expense of the Champions League T20. CL T20 basically doesn?t serve any purpose. It is not widely followed either. It can jolly well be done away with to provide a window for IPL-2. It would be exciting to see the game being played in New York, California, Toronto, Madrid, Milan or Munich. TV rights and ad revenues will ensure profit, while aggressive marketing might tempt the locals to pay a visit to the grounds. It will take time to woo fans who know very little about the game, but efforts must begin in right earnest.
Cricket is the biggest brand and the most popular product that India can export and IPL is the biggest medium that can help the BCCI extend its global reach. Somehow, the Indian board has to work out a formula to make things lucrative enough for its English, Australian and South African counterparts to join the group. If the ECB works to promote cricket in Europe and the CA and CSA do likewise in the Southern Hemisphere and Africa, respectively, then the task of spreading the game to every corner of the globe will be a lot easier.
Football is the most popular sport in the world because of its simplicity. Rules are far simpler and easily understandable in T20 cricket than the longer formats of the game. T20 cricket provides the ups and downs and suspense of a thriller. Fans will be interested. The BCCI may have to sacrifice a bit to accommodate the other boards. But they shouldn?t mind with bigger gains guaranteed. The BCCI is the biggest organisation as far as cricket is concerned. It can become a global sports giant by using IPL and marketing T20 cricket properly. IPL has unlimited economic potential. So far, only the Indian millionaires have stakes in it as franchise owners. Extending the tournament?s global reach is bound to attract business tycoons from other parts of the world as well. Cricket can grow, riding on the IPL bandwagon. No, it doesn?t need Olympics.