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The expat Indian Premier League

The expat Indian Premier League

- by Mukundhan 24 Mar 2009
This story has been read 164 times.

Category: Sports
Topic: Others

After weeks of scuffling with the Indian government, the IPL organizers have thrown up a surprise that no one anticipated – moving the Indian Premier League to England or South Africa.

There are differing views in the press and there are rumours afloat in various magazines about the reason behind this move by the BCCI. I shall just just stick to the authentic news sources.

After working out too many revised schedules, neither of which took the demands of Indian government into account, and exacerbated by the concern voiced by the respective state governments about their inability to guarantee sufficient security cover to IPL matches during the general elections, the BCCI administrators have decided to offshore it to another country. England will be the most likely host though Cricket South Africa has left no stone unturned to express interest in hosting the IPL matches.

The BCCI is a private body that doesn’t come under the direct influence of the federal government in India. It is this privatization that allows it to dictate world cricket affairs at the moment. The IPL, its money-spinning machine, is an attempt to cash in on the T20 Euphoria in India and put the rebel ICL out of business. The raison d’être of the IPL is to fill the coffers of the BCCI and that of the various franchisees (and their players notwithstanding) and is not an event of national significance that deserves prime importance at a time when India gear up for the general elections. Since the IPL organizers were dependant on the people in the centre for the conduct of these matches in terms of ensuring security, they had to heed to the government’s request to reshuffle the dates to avoid any potential law and order problem.

With Mr.Modi having too many stakeholders to satisfy, his attempts to reschedule the second season of the IPL by moving some of the games to Tier II towns and cities wasn’t quite well received by the government. When it looked like the only option Modi had was to buckle down under the pressure of the government and call the event off, he surprises us by offshoring it to another country.

However, for us Indian fans, it’s the thought that went behind the decision, more than the decision itself, which is baffling.

Moving the event to England or South Africa is not going to affect the profitability of the venture. In an interview, Mr. Modi has quoted “The cost and revenue model is of no concern to the IPL”. The franchisees will be equally happy that the tournament will be conducted overseas as opposed to not having a tournament at all. So we do not doubt the profitability of the event. We are doubtful of the success of this event in a foreign country and whether the teams representing India and comprising 7 Indian players will receive any support in South Africa or England.

We should not be misled by the fact that the Indians are crowed pullers when it comes to overseas cricket matches. While it is an undeniable fact that teams from the subcontinent manage to attract expats wherever they play, consistently attracting a huge turnout for an event that is going to last a painstaking 59 days, where the second half of the tournament is more likely to comprise a bulk of dead rubber matches which have no consequence to who will be playing in the semi finals and the finals, remains a serious challenge for the BCCI.

Though Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and a few English counties might attract a decent turnout for the games, the local turnout might still be poor, considering the presence of 7 Indians in each team. Also, expecting the British and the Afrikaners to support a Chennai Super Kings or a Rajasthan Royals is a bit too much to ask. The BCCI have lost an opportunity by leaving out Pakistani players from their respective IPL franchises, a move that could have helped attract Pakistani fans from the UK.

The BCCI has imposed a condition that the hosting country should consider the viewership in India before scheduling the matches. Though that might be a nice idea to guarantee that Indians will still be able to watch the tournament, it does not match the Indian support that tournament would receive in say, the Feroz Shah Kotla or the Eden Gardens.

The BCCI has flexed its political muscle and has tried to prove a point to the government that it can do without much help from them. They have also axed their broadcasting contract with Set Asia (the banner that holds Set Max in India) after the latter took the IPL to court in a conflict of interest case related to the broadcast that resulted in the loss of 137 crore INR to the BCCI.

The going has not been smooth for the IPL organizing committee this year. A lot of their hopes are resting on the outcome of this expat league. It may as well result in Mr.Modi’s arrogance being brought down to earth.

Interesting days ahead…

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