Bcci Aims For World Domination

[carnish]

In the old days, ambition meant going out and conquering a few countries. First people used military might to achieve their goals. Then came the age of the big corporations – what military might couldn’t achieve, economic might would. Companies set up offices in each country and took advantage of their economic progress. And now, we are in the digital age, IBM, Microsoft, Apple and Google have all in turn been the leaders of the technology drive. But even as the world is increasingly becoming a smaller place thanks partly to all this technology, if the Board of Control for Cricket can have it’s way, they would like to make it even smaller. James Astill, the political editor of The Economist, has written a book on the IPL, which in the eyes of many is the most important development in cricket today. The book is titled, ‘The Great Tamasha’ and has been published by Bloomsbury in India. (We will be publishing a complete review of the book soon, so check back in on Monday for that.) But while reading the book, we came across a few interesting thoughts from Niranjan Shah – the most powerful man in Saurashtra cricket, the BCCI vice-president, former BCCI secretary and a survivor of different regimes in the Board. Have a read: ‘International cricket, that is OK.’ Shah said dismissively. ‘As long as people like it. But it should not be our core thing because at the moment all our earning is through international cricket only. No earning in through our local competition. That’s why we are losing a lot of money.’ ‘So I think the IPL is the first step on this issue. Like in baseball, America is not worried whether other country is playing is playing or not. Because cricket is a major game here, so we should not depend on whether England or South Africa come to India to get money. Why not play between two states? Maybe we can call ourselves Saurashtra Lions or something. We can get 40,000 to that game and bring revenue from TV. That’s what I want to see – cricket has to go to the level of baseball of America. We are one billion people, three times bigger than America. We should not be dependent on whether this or that country comes.’ ‘ICC is trying to control us. That’s my feeling.’ Shah explained. ‘Most of the other boards do not like that we make so much money and that their revenue depends on whether our team goes to play them. So the whole thing has been reversed. For cricket the only market is India. The market is here. So we will control cricket, naturally.’ Now, Shah of course is saying all of this in his personal capacity and the BCCI may not share his views. But given who he is and his standing in Indian cricket, it’s hard not to attach any value to them. ‘International cricket, that is OK’ Ahem. Basically put, we are in this to make money. International cricket makes us the money now. But it doesn’t need to remain that way. If we can find a way to expand the IPL season – make it longer, we can make a lot more money and then we won’t need international cricket. In 2011-12 for instance, the BCCI made Rs 213.45 crore from cricketing Tours. During the same period, they made 312.77 crore from the IPL and the Champions League T20. India tours for the whole year and still makes just 213.45 crore. On the other hand, the T20 tournaments made more than that in three months. It’s clear – longer IPL, lots more money. The ICC, in its own way, has cleared the decks for such a move by stipulating that the minimum number of Tests to be played by a country in a four-year period is 16. Break it down further and it’s four Tests in one year. One tour of Australia, England, South Africa, Bangaldesh or even Zimbabwe will suffice. Do that and you remain part of the ICC but also free to do your own thing. ‘Why not play between two states?’ Have we forgotten the Ranji Trophy or has the BCCI simply written it off? The Ranji Trophy isn’t exactly glamorous but there was a time – although it was a long time back – when it would attract the big crowds. Former India skipper Dravid recently spoke about the importance of domestic cricket during a function at Panaji, “Spin or fast bowling, easy or difficult track, domestic cricket made me better prepared than I would have ever been without it… today I think I wouldn’t have been prepared for the success I ultimately had in international cricket had I not gone through the finishing school that domestic cricket provided.” Then again, Shah isn’t referring to even the Mushtaq Ali tournament (which is currently the state competition for T20 cricket). He is referring to an IPL-style tournament. ‘Cricket has to go to the level of baseball of America’ To go to that level, the level of cricket India plays will also have to be the best in the world. The quality of basketball in the NBA is the best in the world and similarly the overall quality of the baseball played in America is also the best in the world. Japan, Puerto Rico, Cuba – all play a pretty high level of baseball but all of them want to come to America and try themselves out against the best. The world series is the way Major League Baseball tells everyone that it is the best. India, as it is, is pretty good but is it the best? ‘For cricket the only market is India’ In one swoop, Shah reduced the rest of the world to nothing. He’s basically saying that the BCCI’s plans for world domination don’t necessarily include the world. If the world becomes party to the act, then so be it and if they don’t, then we don’t care. A recent report in the Indian Express stated that nearly all major cricketing boards owe BCCI money – the sums aren’t huge but it shows just how important India is to the economy of cricket. If one takes India out of the picture, where would that leave cricket? Cricket has been driven by country vs country competition and if you put an end to that — will the game survive?

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/why-the-bccis-outlook-on-cricket-spells-danger-for-the-game-1032869.html

[BeautifulGame]

I honestly like the crux of the argument( inter state rivalries ) even if the other point (about no need for international cricket) is bit iffy. I prefer how football works.Just play international world cups once in 4 years with all the buzz along with few qualifiers but domestic football played all through the year and rivalries are more meaningful and fun. I enjoy domestic competitions (IPL to be precise) more becoz the banter u have is lot more real and fun.

[Precambrian]

Screw nationalism in sports