Richie rich BCCI is all set for yet another big show, with the jewel of its crown, the famed Indian Premier League (IPL), set to play its ninth season. Just as the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals threatened to dent, the entry of Pune and Rajkot made up for the loss, promising a full-throttled push to the series, as well as the coffers of the BCCI. A financial heavy weight in world cricket, it can even influence the fortunes of global cricket.
Cricket, like other major sports, is evolving big time. With the introduction of the Twenty20 format not only has interest spread in different regions but it also brings in a lot of money for top cricket boards. Twenty20 has revolutionised cricket in India in the last five to seven years. India’s domestic T20 Premier League is one of the most lucrative sports leagues around the world and teams from IPL are spending big money to bring in talented players to boost their squads. And Rs.528 crores speaks for itself -- that this sport, this gentleman’s game, has joined the big league of lucrative sports like tennis, football and golf. Come April-May spectators will throng the stadiums all across the country to glimpse their star players in action.
The 2016 season of the IPL, also known as IPL 9 or Vivo IPL 2016, will be the ninth season of IPL, a Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament is scheduled to be played between 8 April and 29 May 2016. The season will have two new teams who replace Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals who have been suspended for two years, up to 2017. These two new franchise-based teams have been added for two years, and will feature this season, representing the cities of Pune and Rajkot.
What is it that makes this game so popular in India? It is the die-hard fans who make the difference. However volatile or extreme emotions they display, you can bet that every time there is an India match, getting viewership won’t be an issue. Australia and England are pretty much accustomed to witnessing more Indian fans in the stands than native supporters during a foreign game for India. In India there is simply no match. These fans account for a major portion of the BCCI’s balance sheets and also contribute to maintaining the brand image of the board in the advertising world. Cricketers like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni charge RS.8-10 crore a year for endorsements, which is largely due to the fact that cricket means eyeballs. This ecosystem brings money pouring in and the result is the BCCI’s numero uno status amongst the boards of cricket-playing nations.
A great degree of commerce also results from the fact that BCCI faces no competition with other market forces. In a country where most other sports struggle to make ends meet, the BCCI needs to be applauded for not only being self-sufficient but also for being one of the richest sports associations in the world. The BCCI helps the ICC get lucrative sponsorship deals for global events, all credit going to its clout and influence over the market. None of the players around the world have a brand value comparable to the Indian heavy weights. That helps the BCCI maintain its financial position in the world of advertising.
Over a period of 40 days from Oct 1 to Nov 10, 2014, Pakistan played Australia in a cricket series in different cities in the Persian Gulf. These are two of the top teams in world cricket. The TV sponsorship that the PCB was able to negotiate for the entire 40-day tour was around US$ three million (Rs.18.9 crore). Sony’s TV sponsorship for an IPL season which includes around 60 matches is roughly US$ 180 million (Rs.1134 crore), i e, each match goes for about US$ three million (Rs.18.9 crore). Star India’s TV sponsorship deal for international cricket matches involving India and played in India works out to about US$ eight million per match (Rs.50.4 crore). Look at that once again, a 40 day tour is worth the same as one match which lasts about four hours and is about 2/5th of one international match involving India.
As much you try and criticise the BCCI, the bottom line is they have the might and also the money. Or shall we say the might is due to the money.
The truth today is that international cricket cannot survive on the financial front without BCCI’s help. They contribute to almost 80 percent of cricket’s global income. It seems that the BCCI has a Midas touch because whatever they do (or don’t do in a few cases) they make huge money. It is difficult to accept that there was a period when the Indian board was not even able to pay their cricketers on time. But how did that revolution come about and what are the factors that contributed to such financial prowess for the BCCI?
However volatile or extreme emotions they display, you can bet that every time there is an India match, getting viewership won’t be an issue. These fans account for a major portion of the BCCI’s balance sheets and also contribute to maintaining the brand image of the board in the advertising world
The big moment came when in 2008 the Indian Premier League or IPL started and the BCCI started to mint huge chunks of money. It was not as if the Indian board was any less a financial force before, but IPL changed the power equations in world cricket as well. The blend of Bollywood and cricket was accepted with open arms by the Indian public which meant stadiums going full and television sponsorship taking off in a substantial manner. The IPL also brought about a greater scope for corporate money flow and business giants taking interest in cricket far more than they did earlier.
After seven successful years the lucrative cash rich league has ensured that India is a commercial superpower in world cricket.
Virat Kohli is also one of the highest paid player overall in the cricket world, just short of Mahinder Singh Dhoni in the top spot. Dhoni holds the top spot in terms of highest yearly income for the best part of the last nine years, largely because of the highly lucrative domestic endorsement deals.
Indian captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni is not only the highest paid player in the world but also the richest cricketer of the last couple of decades. When India won the 2011 World Cup MS Dhoni was placed at number 23 in the Forbes athletes’ rich list with a yearly income of around US$28 million (Rs.154.84 crore) making him by far the richest player in cricket. Most of his money comes from domestic sponsorship deals, around US $23 million (Rs.127.19 crore) a year, while his yearly contract with the BCCI (Indian cricket board) earns him around US$3.5 million (Rs.19.35 crore) a year plus his IPL contract earning him a further US$2 million (Rs.11.06 crore) a year.
Ahead of the new season in 2016, the Indian cricket board, on its website, listed out how much money is paid to some of the leading cricketers retained by the IPL franchises.
Kohli is the highest paid (IPL) Indian player with a pay cheque of Rs.15 crore. Kohli, India’s Test skipper, leads Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL. Dhoni, who will play for Pune this year, gets Rs.12.5 crore.
By Joe Williams
