Week Ended: February 29, 2008

India’s Latest Cricket Obsession

Considered one of the most popular sports globally, cricket is undergoing some interesting changes in India these days. Indian cricket has long been synonymous with large, passionate crowds and patriotic fervor. In the past, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has supervised the game of cricket including selecting the national team. In a recent move, the BCCI is attempting to unlock the game to market forces by creating a new domestic tournament, known as the Indian Premier League (IPL), and auctioning franchises of the teams to private parties. Despite the widespread attention that the national Indian team attracts in international cricket matches, domestic matches in India are far less popular and stadiums are in disrepair. IPL, set to kick off in April, may change things.

While two-inning cricket matches are played over several days with at least six hours of cricket played each day, the IPL tournament is based on a shorter version of the revered national sport called "Twenty20." By contrast, Twenty20 is action-packed, and just three hours long, shortening the game to a more spectator and television-friendly version of the age-old bat-and-ball field sport.

The competition will feature eight teams and city franchises, including Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, playing a total of 59 matches. According to BCCI, the 10-year franchises for each team set off a bidding war among the Bollywood elite (India's version of Hollywood) and some of India's business tycoons. In the end, they fetched an aggregate amount of $723 million. What's more, the bidding for cricket players translated into significant sums with some players commanding a "value" of over $1 million for a tournament that is likely to last only about a month and a half.

The birth of the IPL itself is perhaps an example of competition—up until last year, the BCCI had a monopoly over cricketing games in India. Another rival private party started the Indian Cricket League last year, which prompted the BCCI to initiate the IPL. If either league finds success (among other hurdles, ticket prices may be unaffordable for many fans) the achievement is likely to have reverberations globally. English cricket leagues may be enticed to compete with IPL to retain some of its players since money being raised for the Indian league may be much greater due to far larger potential ticketing and sponsorship revenues in India.

 

 

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