‘Who said cricket was boring?’

Praveen Vikkath

Covid or no Covid, the cricket fans across the world are going to witness the spectacular opening in the UAE on September 19 of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament. It is for the second time that the UAE is hosting the prestigious IPL, the first in 2014, which was a roaring success as far as the huge crowds that thronged the grounds, the comfort of the multinational players and the financial gain of the host country.

UAE is one among the most sports loving countries, which hosts international sports events every season. Hence it is the most appropriate place for holding The IPL outside India. Its multinational crowd, the friendly countries and the peaceful atmosphere here adds success to any event held in this wonderful country.

“Who said cricket was boring?” … was the slogan chanted by the gallery during the cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand in London in 2019. Many cricket enthusiasts who adorably watch test cricket must have been extremely happy by those words.

However, when it comes to a new generation cricket lover that final match might not have made any impact on him as he has been accustomed to such over the top extravaganza ever since the Indian Premier League (IPL) -the first national T20 league- became a reality in 2008.
The statistics also validates the thrilling nature of T20 cricket.

According to ICC, in One Day International (50 over)cricket, the average run rate has grown steadily from around 4 when the format was first played in the 1970s to over 5 in recent years. However, when it comes to 20-over Twenty20 International cricket, the average run rate is between 7 and 8.

It is nothing but the immense power and athleticism that make T20 cricket above par and unlike the test cricket which gives importance to the technique and temperament, while a short form of the classic game , the T20 has been always more entertaining and thrilling ever since it was initiated by ICC in 2003.

One could easily say that if T20 is a paradigm shift in cricket, IPL is the flag bearer of that change.

It was in 2003 that the International Cricket Control board recognized T20 at professional level. Later in 2007 the first World Cup was held in South Africa. Interestingly it was India, who invented the IPL, lifted the maiden World Cup trophy after its sensational win over its arch rival Pakistan. In the very next year the Board of Cricket Control of India  launched the IPL.

IPL literally changed the scenario of world cricket. Not only the way it is played but also the commercial aspect of it.

Dynamics of IPL
Registering the first IPL centauryof 158 runs over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening match, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum started off the fireworks and since then many players entered the list of IPL centurions by showing some cracking stuff in the crease. Before Maccullum made his first IPL T20 century, it was almost impossible to think that a batsman could complete a ton in this tiny format of the game.

It was none other than Chris Gayle, one of the pioneers of IPL, who made the highest score in the competition by scoring 175 runs not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India. The fastest was also scored by him for the same team. It was 100 runs in 30 balls. However, the slowest century was from Manish Pandey for the same team Royal Challengers. He scored 100 runs in 67 balls. The total centuries made by Indian batsmen are 23 centuries, according to the then media reports.

In terms of number of centuries, it is Chris Gayle who leads the list with 6 centuries, followed by Virat Kohli who has five centuries in his pocket. David Warner and Shane Watson have four centuries each in their name. AB de Villiers has scored three centuries while Brendon McCullum, Adam Gilchrist, Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Hashim Amla, Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane have two centuries each.

All these figures show how IPL has changed the cricket forever. As a result of IPL, cricket became a play of exuberance and vitality.

Commercial Aspect
It is a well known fact that cricket and business are the two sides of the same coin. Both have helped each other from time to time. In fact, a big stage like IPL was the brain child of the corporate world which tries to exploit the immense popularity of the game. Cricket also gains from that move.
It is also criticized that the prodigal habits of teams and sponsors made the game a show bizz. The statistics underscores this fact.

The media rights, which worth Rs 236 crore in 2008, gathered in Rs 4087 crore in 2019.
The sponsorship that the event earns was Rs.111 crore in 2008 and in 2018-2022 cycle it has become Rs. 618 crore.

The payment made to the franchises was an average of Rs. 27.5 crore per team in 2008. In 2017 it became Rs. 79.6 crore. Then in 2018, the average share of each team jumped up to Rs. 271 crore after the whopping deal with Star Sports.

In this season it is estimated that the UAE, where the tournament would take place from September 19 may obtain 80-90 million dirhams. It is the second year that the UAE is hosting the tournament. In 2014, the country gained 147 million dirhams. It is believed that this year’s income would be less than the previous year due to the Covid 19 uncertainties.