Analysis of the Impact of Commercialisation on Cricket:

In the light of our aforestated case study we will now analyze the overall impact of commercialisation on Cricket.

While due to commercialisation, the amount of money involved in the game was increased; the phenomenon has its adverse effects also as evidenced by the rise in spot-fixing and match-fixing reports from the post-90’s era. Infact, commercialisation was clearly at the central stage of the recent restructuring of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This latest restructuring aims to hand over the Central administration of the game in the hands of three full members- India, Australia and England; while the rest of the countries will continue as associate members. Needless to say there are financial aspects as well as non-monetary benefits involved also. The Telegraph in its 9^th February, 2014 edition has reported that India’s share of the revenue

distributed by the world body is likely to jump from around 4% to over 20%

while the current BCCI President N. Srinivasan is all set to become the ICC’s first chairman post restructuring. Such developments at a time when there have been numerous calls from all corners to sack him owing to his team’s involvement in the 2013 IPL betting scam.

More recently, the Supreme Court has also quashed the plea of India Cements, the owners of Chennai Super Kings, that Gurunath Meiyappan, chief accused in the 2013 betting scam, is only a Cricket “enthusiast.” On the basis of the report of the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee the role of Mr.

Meiyappan as the team official and “face” of Chennai Super Kings has been already proved. Further he has been convicted of offences like passing team information and placing bets through Vindu Dara Singh. Worse, the team owners are said to have given statements that contradict the factual

position. Moreover the Report also criticizes the modification in the IPL rules that allows BCCI officials to hold commercial interests in IPL teams.

On 5 June 2013, Rajasthan Royals team co-owner Raj Kundra was questioned by the Delhi Police for alleged involvement in illegal betting. On 6 June 2013, Delhi Police claimed that he had confessed to them of placing bets on his IPL team through a bookie who was his friend. On 7 June 2013, Rajasthan Royals team management said that Raj Kundra would be suspended and all his shares in the team taken back if the charges against him of betting were proved. Because of this, he was suspended from the IPL by the BCCI on 10 June 2013. Currently, the Delhi Police are awaiting a directive from the apex court to investigate Kundra and his wife, Bollywood Actress Shilpa Shetty after the Supreme Court-appointed panel said that charges against him need further probe.

The future of the current Team India Captain M.S.Dhoni also hangs in the balance. Dhoni along with teammate Suresh Raina are among the six capped Indian players named in the Mudgal Panel report. Bookie Uttam Jain alias Kitti has named Dhoni and Raina in connection with IPL spot-fixing and betting when confronted by Trichi Railway SP Sampat Kumar, informed Mudgal; as per the reports of Zee News Network on 12^th February, 2014.

The three Rajasthan Royals Cricketers- Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan faced severe misfortune and punishment for their offences.

Reportedly, Chavan was promised 6 million (US$96,000) to give away 14 runs in Rajasthan Royals' match against Mumbai Indians on 15 May 2013 and he did it giving away 15 runs in his second over. After being arrested, he was immediately suspended by his employer, Air India. He later broke down in police custody and confessed to spot-fixing in IPL 6On 13 September 2013, Chavan and fellow player Sreesanth were banned from cricket for life by the BCCI disciplinary committee. Delhi Police also said that Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan and 23 other people arrested by them in the spot-fixing scandal were going to be slapped with the provisions of Maharashtra Control of

Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) since they were acting under the command of underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel.

The question that looms large as of now is- Where the game going? In the interview I conducted with Mr. Gautam Dasgupta, Former Joint Secretary of BCCI and CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees, CAB at the YMCA grounds on 22^nd February, 2014 in connection with this project, Mr. Dasgupta has stated that the IPL is leading to deterioration of the game as a whole while turning out to be a lucrative pass-time for the young generation. When asked about the impact of the tournament on Commercialisation, Mr. Dasgupta clearly stated that

Commercialisation of the game had begun a long ago. The IPL has only led it to the point of saturation.

Moreover it is the performance of the player that makes him a winner both on the field as well as off it. A shining example of that is the Australian Cricket Team. Infact, former Aussie Captain Ricky Ponting quit the

tournament after playing only four games in its inaugural edition. He did not play in it again until his International Career was over.

IPL apart, just how far has the other facets of Commercialisation affected the game? The answer is too much. Commercialisation has brought in sponsors

to the game who always tend to invest their money on a player whose performance off late has been noteworthy. It has increased performance pressure. While many teams and players have stood up to the challenge, some have not. A case in point is that of Former English Opener, Marcus Trescothick. Trescothick pulled out of International Cricket temporarily owing to depression in late-2006 just before the Ashes Series that year. He never played for England again, although he continues to play Domestic Cricket.

Similar was the case of Jonathan Trott who pulled out of the recent Ashes Series due to similar reasons.

Tournaments like IPL have also given rise to a new phenomenon-“Money over Country.” A shining case in point is that of the West Indies opener Chris Gayle. Gayle had a fallout with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in 2011 owing to payment issues and did not play for his country for over a year. At the same time, Gayle started playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and for Sydney Thunders in the Australian Big Bash. Post his comeback to International Cricket in mid-2012, Gayle’s performance for West Indies has been very sketchy, though he continues to score for his League Teams.

Similar is the case of Indian Middle-Order Batsman Suresh Raina. Raina, one of the prolific run scorers in the IPL had only scored one International Half-Century in his last 24 ODI Innings. Consequently, he was dropped from the team for the Asia Cup, 2014.

Modern Cricket has also attracted glamour to the game. The concept of the Cheerleaders was more renowned in American Basketball but courtesy IPL every team has its own set of Cheerleaders who dance to the team’s theme song each time a four or a six is hit or a wicket is taken. Popular Bollywood Celebrities like Shahrukh Khan perform at the opening ceremonies.

Figure 9: Shahrukh Khan performing at IPL 2013. Source: Google Images

Impact on First Class Cricket:

In my interview with Mr. Gautam Dasgupta I asked him whether First Class Cricket had been replaced by IPL as a medium of entry to the National Team.

To this he instantly replied No. he cited the case of Shami Ahmed- the current bowling sensation of the Indian team whose great

Figure 10: Shami Ahmed. Source: Google Images

performance at the Ranji Trophy games has earned him a place at the

National Team. He also stated that none of the IPL Cricketers as of now are a part of the National Team on a consistent basis. He cited the cases of

Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel who, unable to bear the hectic schedule of the game went unsold at this IPL Player’s Auction.

Impact on the owners:

My last question to Mr. Dasgupta was regarding whether the teams were able to make profits out of the high investments associated with the game. To this, he answered that the Teams had not invested their money with an intention to lose it. Rather the benefit was more intangible in nature. He maintained that while none of the teams were able to earn Cash Profits to the extent they would have liked to, the goodwill and brand value of the team owners was getting enriched. So it was not exactly a waste of time.

But off late, the owners have been very sensible with their spending. The amount paid for top 10 players at IPL Player’s Auction was only $12 Million compared to $18 Million in 2011. However the figure was higher than the amount spend in the Inaugural Player’s Auction. A table in this regard has been presented in the Appendix Segment.