Jun 23 2009
IPL 2 Goes International Amidst Domestic Chaos
This is something even Lalit Modi, the IPL Commissioner, would not have envisioned so early into the materialization of the IPL. IPL’s status as an internationally recognized and popular cricket, nay Twenty20, event could not be doubted after last year’s unprecedented success. But that it would actually have the temerity to seek to find a second home in only its second year is astonishing. As the clocks ticks down on the second season of the IPL, all the drama, mayhem and action moves to South Africa while India will take the backseat as a distant dream for some where aspirations were first born.
IPL Outsourced? Preposterous!
There was a buzz about town but none really gave it two pence worth attention. But when floating rumour became reality, it took the cricket world by storm, quite literally. A lazy start to the Sunday afternoon was turned into a rambunctious one. Lalit Modi flashed across television screens, sitting alongside BCCI president Shashank Manohar, stating that the DLF IPL 2 would now be played at a venue outside India. It was not only a major setback for Indian fans who took to the domestic Twenty20 extravaganza with open arms but also, created a major conundrum about where else could an India-centric cricket extravaganza make the kind of dizzying money and enjoy such fanatical craze that it is used to in the India sub continent.
The first word that flashed on most minds was – incredulous! What was incomprehensible was – how could an Indian based event be played elsewhere? Obviously Modi and his team saw the international elements to the business model of sport, namely, the foreign inductees, as the recipe to sell the product abroad. But for the average Indian cricket follower, it made little mathematical sense to have a Mumbai team play in England or elsewhere and continue to enjoy the same fan base and loyalty if it were staged in Mumbai or anywhere in India.
It has certainly thrown a kilter on the concept of home and away that gave this city based bonanza the opportunity to develop fan base over time and thereby, accrue revenue for the investment-friendly franchisees through sale of local team merchandise through sustained frenzy amongst loyal fans. Without establishing firmer territory in the local home bases, the IPL has now been forced to be staged outside the country and thereby, leaving fans feeling a little distant and akin to having a dampener thrown on what could have been another sizzling summer.
Fighting terrorism with politics?
The biggest IPL 2 battle was the one off the field and preceding the actual event. The crisis over staging a tournament of this proposition was precipitated by events that took place on the 3rd of March, 2009. The Sri Lankan team, on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in the course of the second Test against Pakistan, was rudely intercepted by armed terrorists in a shocking reminder not to fall for tall claims that sport was immune to the troubles afflicting the region.
The vulnerability of an international team to the destructive ploys of terrorists exposed the lack of adequate security but also, of the political instability in Pakistan and the ensuing chaos that followed. Mumbai had also fallen siege to an audacious terrorist attempt last November which eventually led to the cancellation of what would have been the first Champions League Twenty20, a spin off from the success of the IPL.
The unflattering reports of the fragility of security arrangements and the growing insecurity amongst foreign players to tour regions of the sub continent was compounded by the situation in India with the IPL 2 schedule clashing with the dates for the Lok Sabha elections. Frantic proposals to the ruling government about possible IPL dates failed to meet with a consensus with the subject of arrangement of security forces being passed back and forth between the Centre and the states with no single political entity willing to take a risk regarding ensuring security to the sporting event when the largest democracy in the world goes to the polls.
As a concerned media began to query Lalit Modi if the IPL was a possibility as a postponement or as a truncated tournament, Modi stated that his team had forty-two different schedules and that the IPL would go on in its full version in India itself. But for all of Modi’s bravado, three rounds of haranguing with the government over reaching a feasible schedule seemed to have tested Modi’s patience enough.
Sending the wrong signals
In one dramatic move, Modi sent shockwaves through India. Incredulous fans and critics condemned the decision, stating it had gone against all principles of standing up to those elements who threaten to shake the very pillars of democracy. They also questioned why the government of the largest democracy and the richest cricket body could not resolve an issue of this nature and arrive at a compromise.
While the BCCI had deviously designed IPL so as not to let it come under the direct purview of the ICC, they have failed to address the issue of responding to the queries on the security issue brought forth by the foreign players through FICA. By ignoring FICA first and then, making a drastic move like this, the biggest apprehension has been that it has validated what the western world has largely feared about touring the sub continent.
While other domestic tournaments went unnoticed without anyone batting an eyelid about security concerns, skeptics of the IPL argued that Modi was making unreasonable demands on the government and that the whole issue was being blown out of proportion and exploited by one and all in good measure when technically the IPL falls under the “domestic” cricket event, especially with corporate agendas. Some called it double standards that no domestic cricketers were provided security and did not have someone to lobby for their own security while the lives of foreign players was considered more equal than others.
In terms of damaging the country’s image, questions marks have been raised about the feasibility of Pakistan playing co hosts to the 2011 World Cup and now fears are that India may have been added to that list. According to some, it was a power trip brought on by arrogance that led Modi to supersede the perceived moves of the government to block the IPL by showing the clout of the BCCI and the confidence in the IPL. By now stating that the Indian government cannot guarantee the safe holding of the domestic IPL, what chance does the 2011 World Cup stand of remaining with the sub continent? Could the BCCI have unwittingly sabotaged its own prospects in India? What this kind of message was being about the country when the Commonwealth games are set to take place in India in 2010 and as Suresh Kalmadi states, of biding to host the Olympics in 2020, for which he actually demanded a postponement of the IPL? These were some of the uncomfortable questions raised.
IPL – a political agenda
Another disturbing aspect that emerged from this shift of the IPL to South Africa was the murky nexus between politics and sports. Many shot down the idea that the IPL found roadblocks because of Modi’s closeness to the previous Rajasthan government, while there appears that while the government was intent on safeguarding its image and did not want blood on their hands in the event of an untoward incident, the opposition was eager as hounds to dig their claws into the ruling party’s inability to ensure the smooth running of a domestic cricket event, albeit heavily loaded with foreign emissaries.
Modi was already facing heat from the Rajasthan government when it was revealed that Jaipur, which was originally slated to host the opening ceremony of the DLF IPL 2, was being scrapped as a venue over security concerns and instead Mumbai would play hosts. Having lost the Rajasthan Cricket Association elections, Modi faced a number of legal charges and the political momentum against him strengthened in the days after the IPL was scuttled to South Africa. Others alleged that Sharad Pawar’s political rivals were sabotaging the cricket tournament and that so long as politicians held key posts within cricket associations, situations like these would bound to crop up.
Lalit Modi had stated that by taking IPL out of India, the decision had allowed the IPL and the general elections to co exist. However, it seems ridiculous to call this arrangement any form of co-existence when one has to make way for the other by actually migrating. Shashank Manohar also stated during the press conference that the IPL was being shifted out of the country primarily because of the government’s inability to provide security assurance for the smooth operation of the IPL in India.
P. Chidambaram, the Home Minister, who had earlier recommending postponing the IPL to after the general elections, addressed the press under growing scathing criticism from the opposition party that the government had shown an impotent attitude and had brought shame upon the country by forcing the new pride of Indian cricket – the IPL – to emigrate in order to survive. The IPL soon became a political debate and the attacks from BJP members were responded in kind by Chidambaram.
While stating that BJP member Arun Jaitley had a penchant for “over exaggeration”, he responded to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that the IPL decision was a shame on the country by stating that the Godhra tragedy and not the IPL moving out had brought shame upon the country.
Chidambaram accused the BCCI and the IPL organizers of acting hastily without consulting with the government. He stated that the states were yet to respond to the call on whether they could provide security, and that there were too many conflicting reports and that the government was awaiting a formal confirmation from the states. While it was widely speculated that during the forty eight hours gap between announcing a new venue for the IPL, the government may backtrack on its indifferent stance, speed up the process and invite a compromise with the IPL. But that the press conference was a politically driven, pointed retort that was shocking and showed how every thing that mattered to the Indian citizen was being ripped apart by political brouhaha.
Teams change directions; Talking losses
It was hard to imagine that as a business venture, franchisee owners would have liked to lose their local sponsors and lose out on brand image building in their own base by allowing the IPL to be taken out of the heart of the country. But then business sense would also dictate that having the IPL anywhere in the world is better than not having it at all. Teams that would have been strategizing market maneuvers to enhance their home base support were suddenly forced to tow the line of the IPL organizers and the BCCI, stating that this was IPL’s only alternative of getting through for a second year in a row.
The Chennai Super Kings have gone on record stating they received Rs.12.5 crores in gate revenue alone during the first season. The loss of hosting the IPL in India is more than what Lalit Modi would have us believe. Stadium spectators were discounted as a minority but there is the entire hospitality sector, not to mention local news agencies and local journalists - print and media, that will lose out in the process of this shift.
Television viewers may indeed represent a sizeable viewing population. But with spectators thronging the stadiums, IPL franchisees have earned enormously from in stadia advertising, beverage pouring rights within the stadium and ground sponsors, not to mention local vendors. The jobs of several grounds men, private security agencies, the hospitality sectors that include airlines, catering services and hotel accommodations would also have been hit with this decision. With ticket prices slashed to attract crowds in South Africa, the franchisees have outwardly stated they are simply content that the IPL is still being staged albeit abroad but they have also asked the BCCI to provide concessions and compensations for the loss of revenue generated as a result of this temporary shift of base. Suddenly Modi’s claims of IPL being recession proof had to be proved by the BCCI who would have to generously dig deep into its coffers to keep the investors and sponsors interested, even if it meant cutting a few corners on the personal front.
Initial estimates put IPL losses at about Rs.200 crores but given the fact that there will be hotel reservations, travel for the players, amongst other things, these figures would have to be revised. But a bullish Modi has categorically stated that the IPL was not looking at the losses but rather focusing on the fact that the IPL is still going to go ahead, irrespective of the cost. Modi himself had earlier stated that the budget for security had gone up by ten times its reserved price. The IPL, which is speculated to have fetched the BCCI an undisclosed but surplus profit in its first year and expected to go many times over in the years to come, is a golden goose that cannot be allowed to be sacrificed for politics.
The government, by creating hurdles for the smooth hosting of the IPL, stands to lose money from taxes and these are no small numbers. Last year alone, the government made Rs.91 crores via TDS deducted as per Income Tax Act Section 194E that states that ten per cent is deducted towards TDS for payment made to a non-resident sportsman. With the IPL moving out of India, the government stands to gain nothing now from the huge price tags for the foreign players as well as from a host of indirect taxes levied upon the various factions involved in the running of the tournament.
Television brouhaha’s big bucks
Even as stadium spectators were considered negligible, television rights raised a storm only to settle in an even more favourable financial position for the IPL. After being dragged to court for entering into a contract with the WSG, IPL organizers signed a fresh deal with Multi Screen Media Private Limited (MSMPL) and World Sport Group (WSG) for Rs8,200 crore in a nine year agreement, profiting from the original deal by Rs.3000 crores with the original deal signed for a ten year deal for $1.03 million. While the deal witnessed a lot of tospy turvy corners with Reliance pulling out of its BIG TV deal over instadium advertising and on air clashes with Airtel’s DTH, it now puts the BCCI in a possible to offset some of its losses resultant from the base shift this year. Talk about finding prosperity in adversity.
SA beat England to IPL Race
It was quite the underdog story. England appeared to hold the edge over South Africa. After all England was due to host the second World Twenty20 championships in June. Logistics suggested traveling to England and thereafter to various locations in England would not prove an expensive proportion given that road coaches in England could do the job of the airlines in South Africa ferrying players from one location to another. In the toss up between South Africa and England as possible IPL venues, England appeared the favoured destination, but then it all changed within a couple of days since the announcement that the IPL was moving out of India.
South Africa became the place to be as many issues were factored in. Primary among these was the weather. Conditions in South Africa, while being chilly at this time, presented a better opportunity of completing matches than did a wet England which would face somewhere in the region of seventy percent of matches being rain affected, and therefore, depriving viewers of a full, uninterrupted game.
Also taken into consideration were the subject mater of television rights. With England playing hosts to the West Indies, there was the element of doubt that the local broadcasters would not appreciate direct competition, especially from a ‘domestic’ cricket tournament emanating from India. While ICC President David Morgan expressed surprise that the IPL had taken such a drastic measure, he also hinted at ICC’s disgruntlement that the IPL could well overshadow the World Twenty20 championships that would follow shortly thereafter in the UK. Another factor that worked in favour of South Africa was the fact that the stadiums all had floodlights after hosting the 2003 World Cup, something that could not be assured across all venues where IPL would be spread in England and with timings to cater specifically to Indian audiences.
With South Africa boasting of sizeable population of people of Indian origin, the IPL then decided upon South Africa and nominated eight venues – Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, Centurion, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Kimberly. But contrary to speculation that eight venues had been chosen in keeping with the eight franchisees, Modi clarified that no such home and away format had been devised for the IPL in South Africa and that every venue would see all teams play at one point in time or another, putting that theory to rest.
SA has its own problems
But if one thought that hosting the IPL in South Africa would be hassle free, here is a kind reminder that it will be anything but. South Africa have their own elections clashing with the IPL dates. Their crime rate is reportedly a genuine concern and the fact that the bilateral series between Australia and South Africa ends a day before the IPL commences, is reason for concern that the series may miss the usual importance associated with the climax of an enticing series, given the hype surrounding the IPL. Unfortunately though it may now look as if South Africa, by agreeing to host the DLF IPL season 2, has shown capability to manage internal affairs better than India have been on the subject of hosting the IPL.
Controversy kick started in India
John Buchanan created quite the furore with his multiple captain theory (perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the team has fifty-seven recruits in its team!) that had Kolkata Knight Riders captain of the last season, Sourav Ganguly, up in arms feigning ignorance and indicating major rifts in perspectives of which way the team should go. As serious as that was for the prospect of the team, there were greater contentions although the bulk of them appeared to come with respect to the skippers of several teams with Vijay Mallya deciding that the Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to do with two captains - Kevin Pietersen when he is available and Jacques Kallis in the former’s absence.
But much of it was overshadowed by the political undertones of the matter surrounding taking the IPL out of India. While the move has undone, at least temporarily, the city based concept, it has also deprived many young cricketers the opportunity to travel with their team and of simply sharing the dressing room with their more illustrious international stalwarts, even with contracts to their name. With logistics and expenditure brought into the equation now that South Africa is the IPL’s current destination, it severely restricts franchisees from being as benevolent as they have been in the inaugural DLF IPL and downsizing their team, defeating to an extent the purpose with which it was originally devised from a non monetary aspect.
The news of the tickets for the first two IPL matches in South Africa being sold out within a couple of hours was met with speculation akin to box office returns in the first weekend when it is often an inside job to inflate misleading numbers. While there is no doubting the popularity of the IPL or of the Twenty20 game in South Africa, this is an unusual scenario where teams comprising primarily of Indian cricketers will compete in front of a foreign audience for whom the primary attraction of watching their own will be curtailed to a fair extent.
While fans may still take to the concept of Twenty20 given the fanfare surrounding the World Twenty20 hosted by South Africa two years ago, the bigger question is whether the franchisees will actually face a set back on the Indian front or actually manage to enhance their image globally. It certainly will be an unprecedented affair. Can IPL make history like it did the year before? There is only one way to find out.
