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| Who Will Rescue Indian Premier League? |
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| Pitched By Cricket360 Editor | |||||||
| Monday, 23 February 2009 | |||||||
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Chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi, may yell himself hoarse that all is well with the IPL that we will have a bigger and better IPL this year, that there are no problems with the sponsors, but all that seems a bit forced and hollow if the news and the cricket coverage are anything to go by. This editorial tries to scratch below the shining patina that is sought to be put on this year’s IPL for under are hidden a host of niggling problems both small and big.
One fact that Lalit Modi and his cohorts cannot hope to deny is, there is a global recession on. At this time, every one is affected by it either directly or indirectly. And no matter what gloss you try to put on it, the IPL is too and so are its sponsors. And though it may not seem so, the Allen Stanford scandal is also somewhat responsible for shaking people’s faith in cricket as a business model. Add to this the fact that Modi is battling a slew of charges in his home state of Rajasthan, where his fiefdom RCA (Rajasthan Cricket Academy) seems set to slip from his grasp. Charges from mismanagement to misappropriation to fraud are filed against him and members of the RCA which he heads are hell bent on dislodging him from his position. Whether this is a politically motivated witch hunt or not as alleged by Modi is irrelevant; what is relevant is that it is a far from ideal situation for the IPL boss to function within and one that is bound to have negative repercussions. Another development that does not bode well for the IPL is the resignation of the CEO of Sony, one of the central IPL sponsors. Again Modi and Sony may yell themselves blue in the face that nothing is changed, things go on as before, but it all does not ring true. Fact is Sony lost a lot of money with even with a tremendously successful IPL last year, so the company is unlikely to be benevolent enough to pour more money down the drain without expecting a substantial return. The fact of the matter is that while the IPL is a fabulously successful product for cricket mad India, it is overpriced. Last year it may not have mattered; economics were not so strained, and there was the euphoria of the exciting first time ever. This time the scales have fallen from the eyes of sponsors and franchises alike. As one franchise put it, “The IPL needs to scale down its ambitions as it cannot afford to get crushed under the weight of its own unbridled greed.” The IPL and the BCCI may do well to heed such words of caution. From the daunting problems that beset the IPL, one question emerges: Who Will Rescue IPL? As of now there are no clear answers….
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."Newer news items:
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