In its 15th year, IPL looks set to breach new frontiers

In its 15th season, the Indian Premier League is poised to cross an important threshold. Already touted as the 6th most valued sports property in the world, the IPL consists of 10 teams this season.

If viewership improves—which should logically enhance revenues from sponsorship and broadcast rights going ahead – the IPL could break an important barrier to challenge the NFL, NBA, Premier League which inhabit the highest echelons among sports properties.

Some indication of such growth has been indicated in events that transpired some months earlier, or are projected to happen after this season finishes. For instance, the two new teams added to the tournament – Lucknow Super Giants (7000-plus) and Gujarat Titans (5000-plus) fetched a mind-boggling Rs 12000-plus crore for the BCCI. This an exponential growth – between 12 and 18 times – over the original prices paid for franchises when the league began in 2008.

Media rights are also up for auction after this season and expected to rake in 50000-60000 crore, almost fourth times what the BCCI got in the last auction five years back. No other sports property has seen such galloping escalation in value. Privately, BCCI officials claim that there is still a potential 20-25 per cent upside possible in the IPL’s valuation in the next 5-7 years. This will obviously depend on the state of the Indian economy, but highlights the power of Indian cricket nonetheless.

The IPL’s financial heft obviously comes from cricket’s popularity in India, particularly the T20 format. The last country to agree to play in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, India ironically went on to win the title, beating Pakistan in the final, which sparked off nationwide frenzy and an obsessive liking for T20 that hasn’t abated.

Riding on the World Cup triumph and quick to understand that it had a cash cow on hand – as well as ward off threats from outsiders – the BCCI promoted the IPL in 2008. Since inception, in spite of the compunctions of pertains and sceptics and despite some unsavoury controversies along the way, the league has only kept growing.

The appeal of the T20 format is lies in its topsy-turvy nature. The best teams on paper can be upset by the seemingly weak. In the 2007 World Cup India, shorn of star players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, were not fancied to make much headway. They won the title. That’s pretty much been the pattern in the ICC event since given how many countries have won the title.

In the IPL, apart from the unpredictability of the format, it was the near equal spread of talent that made picking winners difficult in the early years. For instance, Rajasthan Royals, which boasted virtually no star player except the retired Shane Warne won the title in the inaugural season. Deccan Chargers, flush with heavy duting white ball talent, finished bottom of the heap.
Next season, however, Deccan Chargers went on to win the title!

As the years passed, T20 technique, mindsets and tactics evolved, experience and data analytics making the league less fickle. This is evidenced in how two major teams have fared: Mumbai Indians have won the title five times, Chennai Super Kings four. The T20 format is no longer just slam bang, mindless hitting, but high nuanced battle of skills and wills between ambitious players and teams looking for rewards and accolades, both financial and otherwise, and supported by astute resource management.

The consistency shown by Mumbai and Chennai, apart obviously the contribution of players, is also attributed to how the franchises have been managed. Money has chased players who can bring value to the vision and gameplan of the enterprise, on and off the field, and trust has been reposed in them to deliver. Both these franchises were not given to making whose scale changes in case of adverse result unlike some others.

The 15th edition, however, will be challenging to all teams, even MI and defending champions CSK as the addition of two teams has led to migration of talent. For instance, Mumbai will not have the services of overseas stars Quinton de Kock and Trent Boult, as well as the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal. All four were part of the core group that made Mumbai so formidable.

Likewise, CSK will be without Faf du Plessis, whose superb batting was a key factor in their triumph last season. Suresh Raina, for several seasons known as Mr IPL because of his high impact batting and fielding, does not figure in the CSK squad. In fact, he does not feature in the league, going unsold in the mega auction.

I am mentioning only CSK and MI only to highlight how the IPL talent has undergone a churn this season because of two new franchises and the mega auction. What this means is that all teams have to adjust and adapt to the new situation. Assuming that the talent spread is even, teams that `settle down’ quickly’, are the more likely to do well. This puts extra onus on captains, coaches and senior pros to steer the fortunes of their respective teams.

Which does not reduce the importance of young players and rookies. Because the IPL commands so much attention globally, it has become arguably the most important platform for fresh talent to showcase their potential. Peruse the history of the league, and names of players who used this tournament as a launchpad for an international career keeps popping up frequently: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Yusuf Pathan, Surya Kumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan to name some from India; Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Sohail Tanvir, Kieron Pollard to name a few overseas players.

With places in the playing XI difficult to get because of extreme competition within squads too, young players strive that much harder to make impact. Like every year, doubtless there will be several young players, still relatively unknown, who will hit top billing by the time the 15th edition of the IPL ends.

Readers may have noticed that I have desisted from making a prediction about who the winner would be this year. That’s because every year, starting with Rajasthan Royal’s win in 2008, I’ve always got it wrong. Chastened, I’ve taken a diplomatic position this year: the team that plays best will win!