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IPL owners discouraged from investing in other leagues
The BCCI reminded the teams that the IPL was the market leader by a distance
At a meeting with the franchise owners ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction on Friday, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials made a remark that set many tongues wagging.
The owners were told that with a number of rival leagues mushrooming in the sport, they should be concentrating on the IPL, reminding them that the IPL was the market leader by a distance. “We weren’t told to withdraw from the other leagues. But it was odd that the matter should come up, after all the franchises have made multiple investments around the world and are working towards making them work,” a franchise owner not wanting to be quoted said.
The IPL has enjoyed a leadership space amongst all T20 leagues, primarily by restricting Indian players participation from any other leagues. They remain the biggest draw in cricket and the sponsorships and media rights income is dominated by the Indian market. While the BCCI makes ₹9000 crores media rights revenue annually from the IPL, ILT20, comes a distant next with an annual media rights income of ₹100 crores.
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The BCCI may be looking to safeguard its brand, now after a number of IPL franchises are spreading their wings to other leagues. The upcoming SA20 run by Cricket South Africa has all six teams owned by IPL owners. The ILT20 that will be running in UAE at the same time will have three IPL owners. The Caribbean Premier League has two IPL owners. Kolkata Knight Riders has stakes as well as a team in Major League Cricket starting in USA, next year.
“It was important to build a model successfully at home and replicate it in other markets to keep alive the Knight Riders brand round the year and cultivate a fan base. We are fortunate to turn our vision into reality with the ILT20 where we will play in January, IPL in March-May, MLC in June-July in the US and the CPL in August-September,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a recent interview.
When asked if the IPL was concerned about other leagues giving competition, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal was not perturbed. “Other boards have all the rights to start their league. The IPL is way ahead,” he told reporters.
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When pressed on IPL owners picking up stakes, he didn’t echo the same sentiments that were expressed to the franchises, earlier in the day. “Few of them (franchise owners) have interest in other leagues. We cant stop them.”
On the debate stirred by some former cricketers that Indian players can benefit from playing T20 cricket in conditions all around the world, BCCI has no plans to revise their policy. “It’s a policy decision. The BCCI is very clear. Given the calendar, there is no scope of Indians participating,” Dhumal said.
