Magic of cricket’s markets — old and new

Cricket’s financial muscle and world domination is due to the millions of passionate ‘cricket consumers’, the size of our economy and India’s huge market .

Let’s see how. Cricket’s global economy is based in Mumbai, every financial impulse is released/ controlled from here and India contributes approx 80% of ICC’s global revenue. When this financial cake is sliced to be distributed among members, India receives almost 39% (next best Australia is around 6) which translates into roughly $250 annually .

Question: Why does India/ BCCI India get such a big share? Answer: Without India, there wouldn’t be a cake in the first place.

Size, and numbers, matter and India’s market (translated into fans who buy tickets, viewers who watch, corporates who pump money into the ecosystem) is the foundation on which rests our rich cricket structure. For perspective, India has a population of 140 crores, Australia 2.6, Sri Lanka 2.2 and New Zealand a mere 55 lakhs, perhaps less than Gurgaon .

India’s economy and market size delivers big media/sponsorship numbers because commercial partners understand cricket’s pan-India reach. The BCCI uses its income to support its domestic programme — it has more cricket than the rest of the world put together, with tournaments from U14 up to Ranji, Duleep and Irani. India has 38 first class teams, Australia 6, England 18. India has great infrastructure with almost 40 international venues.

The cricket market’s magic is most visible in the IPL, a professional league ruled by private ownership. Eight teams were first sold/bought through a bidding process in 2008, and when two additional teams were put on the market Lucknow paid an astonishing annual fee of ₹709 crores.

The IPL throws up other stunning (maybe bizarre) numbers. The media value of each 3-and-a-half hour game is ₹118 crores. TATA pays 500 crores each year for title naming rights — DLF paid 40 when IPL started. Mitchell Starc’s salary at KKR in more than the entire squad cost in the Big Bash League. IPL teams collectively spend ₹1000 crores on player salaries , other leagues can’t afford even a fraction of this.

Significantly, the original 8 IPL franchises are spectacularly profitable. Flush with spare funds, these ‘non state actors’ are on a buying spree to acquire cricket properties across the world . Already foreign leagues ( CPL, SA T 20, ILT 20, MLC ) have been conquered, and England’s Hundred is the next target .

But recently, almost unnoticed, a remarkable change is unfolding as a new market is emerging. What’s interesting is it exists beyond the traditional boundary — it is outside official cricket, free and independent of the BCCI. As cricket spreads, and more people get involved, the momentum creates its own economy, its own market.

Leading this change is the sudden sprouting of all manner of cricket leagues which operate at different levels . Private entrepreneurs put together private leagues featuring veteran cricketers, these are held in India but some also travel to the Middle East, Canada and England. One such marquee event is the Legends League which has teams comprising some quality retired/past Indian stars, also random foreign players with no claim whatsoever of previous greatness.

In these leagues Suresh Raina, Pathan brothers, Yuvraj and Harbhajan Sungh and now Shikhar Dhawan are the superstars who command top dollar. But the monetary windfall extends to other talent as well. Praveen Gupta’s (the relatively unknown UP spinner) auction price is 48 lakhs, Dhawal Kulkarni is at 50 , Naman Ojha, Stuart Binny and Pawan Negi at 40. Even Pravin Tambe, now 52 years old, has a ₹28 lakh contract, much more than his salary while representing Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Lions , Sunrisers or KKR in the IPL !

Some cricket leagues have broken fresh ground by going one step ahead - they are played without regular players. Mumbai’s Street Premier League ( with the tag line ‘from street to stadium’ ) received an overwhelming response. Delhi’s Entertainers League was played indoors at IG Stadium in front of a full house. These leagues were on mainstream national sports channels, broadcast during prime time with sophisticated tv coverage and (dodgy) commentary .

The ground reality is that cricket is exploding across India at different levels. A new market is already in place, and it is stretching, expanding with more commercial activities.

And it’s not just events, matches and leagues. Even infrastructure, once totally dependent on BCCI or state for funds, is now a business opportunity for private investment. A real estate builder announced a ₹300 crore cricket stadium in Delhi - this when he is unlikely to have any official, approved BCCI matches!