Big Bash to big cash: The IPL is taking over cricket

The IPL is back, bigger, brassier and bashier than ever.

In an interview last week, the creator of the IPL Latit Modi said that the IPL will soon overtake the International Cricket Council in running world cricket.

He says there were plans even in the IPL’s infancy that the competition was to be more than just a T20 competition, but to incorporate four-day tests between the franchises as well.

The IPL will continue to attract the world’s best players, as once the salary cap is inevitably removed, he estimates that soon top players could command sums of up to $1 million per match.

And it’s hard to argue against. Here’s some numbers.

Star India purchased the broadcast rights for the IPL for $3.2 billion for the next five years. The Indian diaspora supports the league across borders, as bids came in for the rights in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the cricketing world.

Chinese electronics company Vivo currently hold the title sponsorship rights for the IPL, paying Rs 2,199 crore, otherwise $435million. The current brand value of the Vivo IPL is $5.3 billion, while the Mumbai Indians valued at $106 million in 2017.

Players have morphed into walking billboards, with franchise sponsors covering the playing kit from head to toe.

The advertising is so full-on at times that you need to step back and take a CEAT Tyres strategic timeout just to regroup and remember you’re watching cricket!

These are all astronomical numbers compared to the rest of the cricket world, and render the Big Bash a mere drop in the ocean compared to this Indian juggernaut.

But if there’s anything we can learn from the way Cricket Australia handled the negotiation of its broadcast rights, it’s that they speak the language of money.

Surprisingly, Cricket Australia haven’t milked the Indian cash cow as much as they exploited their domestic broadcasters. But if they don’t learn soon, the Big Bash will struggle into the future.

If the IPL continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, other competitions need to find ways to stay in the picture.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have gone down the innovative path with their 100-ball creation. Their intentions are honourable to try to bring a fresh approach to the fledgling county scene, but there’s no guarantee this will revitalise the game in its traditional home.

To break from tradition, it’s India that holds the key.

Twenty-three percent of the world’s population is from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 2015, the South Australian government disagreed in 2015 when they bid to host the India-Pakistan clash rather than Australia-England. The selling power of Asia turned this into the biggest game in the tournament, selling out in 12 minutes!

This is where Cricket Australia’s attention must be for the Big Bash’s future growth. It may only ever be the IPL’s reserve league, but that position could be worth hundreds of millions.

So far, the BCCI has refused to release any Indian players to play in the Big Bash, presumably to protect the IPL.

It’s unreasonable to expect Test stars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravi Ashwin appear for the Stars or Strikers.

But why not young stars Karun Nair and Yuzvendra Chahal? Get Mohammad Amir and Azhar Ali involved as well, and Cricket Australia have world sport’s biggest rivalry in our own backyard!

Cricket is not the traditional Anglo game it once was. It’s an Indian game. Everyone plays by India’s rules now, and if not, you’ll get left behind.