A monster called IPL
“IPL is not a sport but a rave party, it should be banned” said the ex finance minster, what has changed in IPL which started 5 years back with a bang , modelled on profitable league (EPL , NFL ) of the world, attracted the best talents of the world and also give opportunity for new players to show their skills and then go on to play for the country.
Lets try and understand why some section of politicians and media are against IPL this year , no doubt that IPL currently is not professionally managed compared to EPL and the looks like BCCI is following the philosophy “if its not broken , then it need not be fixed” , you have owners fighting with ground staff and some players doing everything except playing cricket ( read molestation , scandals etc) but does it mean that we should close a venture which has shown potential ? or is it our resistance to change ? or just that opposition wants to target government and media wants to increase their TRP?A simple porter model on competition analysis reveals there Is a huge plus in IPL
Opportunity – we are a nation of billion plus people, crazy for cricket from birth. This is a country which Treats crickets as god and cricket as their religion. IPL gives a great platform for companies to reach to people. On top of this IPL already has been able to create a brand and some loyalty among people regarding the teams they support , thanks to inflow of so many international players strengthen the profile of their respective team.
Weakness – In the current avatar of IPL, couple of thing clearly evident are lack of transparency and lack of professional approach in managing IPL . One doesn’t see BCCI or IPL governing board intervening to resolve any of issues, Also the high profile owners are becoming big compared to the league and as seen previously also when the owner / players becomes bigger than the league, issues are bound to crop up.
Threats –
The biggest treat is to ensure the credibility of the league , if match fixing or spot fixing hits this league then this will be a huge blow and may drive people away from league , also fatigue is one of the important factor to be kept in mind, too much of cricket and banal cricket will drive the people away. With now other countries also coming with their version of league this needs to be thought well
Opportunities -
IPL has all the potential of becoming a global level sports venture, with now Indian Diaspora reaching around the world and with international players in the league there is a huge opportunity to take it international audience.
For league to do well it is clear that they should keep the players and owners in check , ensure positive news reaches through media, with this measure we should see a great venture unlocking value for everyone players, owners and Board.
