Batting for the golden goose

IIPM, ADMISSIONS FOR NEW DELHI & GURGAON BRANCHES

Watch how Pawar and Chandra are slugging it out for the coveted trophy. And there have been no maiden overs yet!

The year 1991 came as a watershed. The Indian economy broke free from the shackles of decades of inward looking policies that curbed its potential. Circa 2007: Indian cricket is all set to be unchained from the monopolistic hegemony of its master of many years, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI). Upon liberalisation, big business names like the Modis, Dalmias, Shrirams and Nambiars (business monopolies in the pre-liberalisation regime), succumbed to the challenges thrown by the post liberalisation scenario and withered away. Similarly, with a dream of replicating Australian biggie Kerry Packer’s action-packed cricketing thriller in the 1970s (which gave rise to today’s hugely popular one-day cricket), media magnate Subhash Chandra’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) has invaded BCCI’s cricketing turf, complete with a war chest of Rs.1 billion. With ICL knocking on its doors, has the beginning of the end for the very cash-rich BCCI (net profit of Rs.2.32 billion in FY07) begun? Or will BCCI manage to deliver a bouncer to its challenger?

Sharad Pawar is digging out every trick from his cricketing bag to protect the BCCI turf from an ICL onslaught, even resorting to some Machiavellian tactics to curb ICL’s cruise, among them blacklisting players, selectors and whosoever dares to associate with ICL; as also hiking up fees for all its players to avoid attrition. Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev, who showed the audacity (?) of publicly siding with ICL was sacked within hours by the BCCI from the chairmanship of the National Cricket Academy. BCCI is clearly feeling the heat.

But it will be a big mistake to underestimate the cricketing behemoth, which has managed cricket in India for close to 75 years. Says Rahul Mehra – the only lawyer who has fought and won a case against BCCI for fiscal malfeasance, “BCCI has always threatened, bought off or manoeuvred a way out to succeed against its opponents.” So of course, there are little chances of BCCI letting go of its monopoly control over the money-spinning game.

ICL may feign hurt at BCCI’s stiff upper lip reactions, but for tough man Chandra, tough times have never lasted long. Remember how in the 1990s, he successfully broke the monopoly of Doordarshan among Indian television viewers? Or even how over the last one year, he’s managed to trip Sony television and race ahead in the TRPs game? Chandra’s enthusiasm is infectious as he believes, “A professional league is the need of the hour as is the killer instinct in the players...” He also says that his ICL is certainly “not in conflict with the BCCI, but is complimentary to it.” Unperturbed by BCCI-led hinderences, ICL is steadily gearing up for the days ahead. Ashish Kaul, Exec. VP, Essel Group told 4Ps B&M, “No doubt, there are others who claim to have developed the game in the name of destruction and marred it with gradual decline and decay; To all of them I say, let the best team win!”

For an inning’s start, ICL is maintaining a steady average without loss of any wickets. With players from the India’s dream team of 1983 and mighty names from the international circuit – Dean Jones, Tony Greig, Inzamam- ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Klusener, Boje – supporting the structure, ICL’s foundations looks rock solid. The League has even been able to win support of the Railway Minister, Lalu Yadav, who has offered stadia under his department at ICL’s service.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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