Even after splurging 70% of their $90 million purse in buying 127 players, at least half of the 10 teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are worried. This is because the latest auctions have managed to significantly dilute what the IPL had gained over the last three years, the home base loyalty that is crucial in generating returns on investments from gate money (ticket sales) and in-stadium advertising. Both these aspects largely depend on the participation of local cricketing heroes in the home base teams.
The new Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with a home base in Kolkata, do not have local players and heroes like Sourav Ganguly, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda and Rohan Gavaskar. Kings XI Punjab, with Mohali as its home ground, is without Yuvraj Singh, VRV Singh and others. Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers are without VVS Laxman and Royal Challengers Bangalore are without Rahul Dravid and a playing Anil Kumble. Rajasthan Royals, too, are devoid of most of the original team that won them the first IPL trophy in 2008.
Experts say that the interest of local advertisers and the public at large to come and watch IPL matches on home grounds is mainly driven by the interest in seeing local cricketing heroes in action. Gate money and in-stadium advertising together have generated Rs 18-20 crore in direct income for the franchisees in each of the last three IPL editions. This may get severely affected in IPL 4 onwards. Additionally, due to the home-base advantage, franchisees have managed to sell merchandising like team jerseys, T-shirts, cricket gear and other apparel at the venues, generating an income of Rs 4-5 crore every year. This would also take a dent in the absence of local heroes with half the franchisees. It is because of this future loss that the KKR team management, including the promoter Shah Rukh Khan, has been sending missives to Ganguly to come on board KKR as a mentor. According to an IPL insider, KKR may get badly affected without Ganguly?s association as the emotionally charged Kolkata fans may end up boycotting the 8-10 home matches. For others, it will be an uphill marketing and branding exercise from scratch as the auction has shuffled the earlier home players into rival franchisees.
The biggest marketing advantage in the current scenario is with Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings who have not only retained their captains and icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni, but have also managed to retain some of their key players through the auctions.