The IPL is the worst form of crony competition in India

[sachin34357]

http://scroll.in/article/702223/The-IPL-is-the-worst-form-of-crony-competition-in-India

The Indian Premier League is also widely and justifiably viewed as a civilisational nadir. A previously unimaginable blend of bad taste and bad faith, the IPL manages to simultaneously insult women, history, cricketing skill, and the intelligence of its viewers. What is too little appreciated, however, is how much it reveals about the Indian economy. About its excesses prior to the slowdown; about the borderline-illegal self-centredness of the owners of Indian companies; about poor management being covered up by good public relations and a sycophantic press; about an apparent inability to do business openly and transparently. I dont just mean the extraordinary obscurity that surrounds who actually owns some of the teams. The Indian public and its Press have happily chosen to believe that many expensive cricket teams can be owned largely by movie stars and other assorted celebrities, and not shadowy financiers spending a few years unknown for tax purposes. This once again demonstrates Indias unique ability to be dazzled and distracted by glittery things. Unsurprisingly, this country is also a major growth market for American pro wrestling. I dont even mean the complicated question of how much tickets actually cost. If you watch a match in Delhi from box seats, for example, you get a ticket that has Rs 30,000 or something like that prominently printed on it but, naturally, you didnt pay that much, you got it at a sharp discount ‒ or you were given it free by an oligarch who wants a favour. In effect, nobody pays full price for hideously expensive tickets, which allows the league to claim both that the games are exclusive and that their future revenue from ticket sales are incredibly high. If people start questioning the claims about ticket revenues, then too many other aspects of the teams finances will start being analysed. This is not unlike Indias real-estate market, where sale prices for houses are way too high, and yet many are empty ‒ because no real-estate developer can afford to admit that theyre too high. They might have to send them lower, which would affect the value of their companies assets, and so on down the slippery slope to housing- market collapse. No, the IPL reveals a great deal about the Indian economy because of the identity of the teams owners ‒ at least, in those cases in which we know who the real owners are. When one of the IPLs champions was removed from the roster in 2012 because the teams owners went bankrupt and couldnt pay league fees, people began to notice that being really, really bad at business seemed to be what most IPL owners had in common. Lets see. The team that was removed in 2012 was the Deccan Chargers, owned by the Deccan Chronicle Group. The companies value in 2007? Rs 5000 crore. Their value in 2012? Rs 200 crore. The group had lost 96 per cent of value, and was massively in debt. Who else? Well, shares in the Delhi teams owners, the Andhra Pradeshbased construction company GMR, were trading at around Rs 120 as 2007 ended; theyre trading at around Rs 25 today. Another team was removed in 2013; it belonged to the Sahara India Group, whose flamboyant owner was thrown into jail by the Supreme Court for apparently running a Ponzi scheme. Subrata Roy, the owner of the Sahara Group ‒ officially the Sahara Parivar, or Family ‒ is one of a kind. He legally changed his name to Subrata Roy Sahara. He calls himself Saharashree, or Man of Sahara; designated himself his groups Managing Worker; and had a special Sahara salute. He had his wife record a music video as a paean to their marriage and his corporation ‒ which coincidentally served to get pictures of his real-estate project and his airline free airtime on music TV. In it, he was pictured repeatedly walking down roads and in motorcades surrounded by people dressed as members of an American Presidents secret service. He himself also wore a dark suit and dark glasses, but was set apart by the fact that he was also wearing a cape with a red lining. He claims to employ a million Indians. A Noted Patriot, he occasionally brings a hundred thousand or so of them together to set a national-anthem-singing record. He also claims to have 30 million investors; though, oddly, when the regulators tried to return a lot of money to them in 2013, not one actual person showed up, which has got to be a far more unusual world record. But the most interesting thing about Subrata Roy Sahara is that he was considered perfectly normal for an Indian tycoon . The leagues overall sponsor was Indias largest real-estate company, DLF: its shares cost around Rs 1200 each when the league opened, and around Rs 170 in late 2014, and thousands of crores of rupees of value has just vanished. DLF is one of the two companies to have lost most value since 2007. (Fortunately, the other was its main rival, Unitech.) Oh, and let us not forget that its dealings with the son-in-law of Indias most powerful woman, Sonia Gandhi, mean DLF is the best-known crony capitalist in th

[HippoSucks]

We're blaming our faults on a harmless and fun game mode. Australians run the Big Bash league and I don't see them having problems due to it. Some may call it "pyjama cricket" and whatnot, but it is somewhat fun to watch and attracts more people to the sport.

[G_B_]

these new web only news portals really do have to to make sensationalist titles to be relevant. Reminds me of firstpost.

[Pakistan]

Does IPL teams make profit every year?

[Kalia_Test]

What a stupid article comparing share prices of companies at peak of bull market and now. What is the point?

[Malcolm Merlyn]

Is this the same Mihir who claimed there was no Modi wave in Hindi Heartland?

[Yoda-esque]

Is this the same Mihir who claimed there was no Modi wave in Hindi Heartland?

Yes, a rabid hater

[jalebi_bhai]

My worry is that the IPL might be a front for money laundering, the way Chelsea, PSG, Man City, Monaco and a number of other football clubs are. There is nothing wrong with the concept of the league. However, there has never been a season where it has been free of controversy.

[yoda]

WTF is wrong with these people? There are pro-leagues world over and the IPL is just another.

[jf1gp_1]

WTF is wrong with these people? There are pro-leagues world over and the IPL is just another.

the issue is world over (including bunch of self loathing Indian) who cant stand the fact that we run one of the most cash rich leagues.

[Precambrian]

the issue is world over (including bunch of self loathing Indian) who cant stand the fact that we run one of the most cash rich leagues.

It ain't "self loathing" bro, but marketing oneself as a libtard to get lucrative writing assignments in western media outlets like Guardian

[Straight Drive]

My worry is that the IPL might be a front for money laundering, the way Chelsea, PSG, Man City, Monaco and a number of other football clubs are. There is nothing wrong with the concept of the league. However, there has never been a season where it has been free of controversy.

Controversy happens everywhere cricket is played in all countries.Azhar, Mark Waugh, Wasim Akram, Waugh,Shane Warne, Cronje, Gibbs, Boje,Asif, Aamir, Salman, Lou Vincent, county cricket (Danish kaneria/Westfield). Should all those international and domestic tournaments be stopped because of few idiots in every country. No.

[kosingh]

My worry is that the IPL might be a front for money laundering, the way Chelsea, PSG, Man City, Monaco and a number of other football clubs are. There is nothing wrong with the concept of the league. However, there has never been a season where it has been free of controversy.

Why is that a worry for cricket fans?

[jalebi_bhai]

Because from season 4-6, we had Subroto Roy, recently convicted to Tihar jail, owning a team in the IPL. What guarantee that he wasn't using illicit money to pay players their salaries?

[jalebi_bhai]

Controversy happens everywhere cricket is played in all countries.Azhar' date=' Mark Waugh, Wasim Akram, Waugh,Shane Warne, Cronje, Gibbs, Boje,Asif, Aamir, Salman, Lou Vincent, county cricket (Danish kaneria/Westfield). Should all those international and domestic tournaments be stopped because of few idiots in every country. No.[/quote'] Again, I'm not against the IPL. I followed seasons 1-3 very earnestly. That said, I don't want the league to turn into a front for illicit activities. I don't want it banned, I want it cleaned up so that I can watch and enjoy the cricket with a clean conscience.

[HippoSucks]

Again' date=' I'm not against the IPL. I followed seasons 1-3 very earnestly. That said, I don't want the league to turn into a front for illicit activities. I don't want it banned, I want it cleaned up so that I can watch and enjoy the cricket with a clean conscience.[/quote'] I don't think the viewers should worry about what illegal activity is taking place behind the scenes.

[kosingh]

As long as the cricket is clean, I don`t see the problem. I don`t care that my doctor paid 40% in black money when he bought his house.

[jalebi_bhai]

I don't think the viewers should worry about what illegal activity is taking place behind the scenes.

Why shouldn't we? It is quite possible that the money being invested in the IPL is money that was scammed off the public. Subroto Roy was scamming lakhs of ordinary people before his arrest. Transparency is necessary.

[HippoSucks]

Why shouldn't we? It is quite possible that the money being invested in the IPL is money that was scammed off the public. Subroto Roy was scamming lakhs of ordinary people before his arrest. Transparency is necessary.

That happens everywhere, not just in cricket. There isn't much the general public can do, so why not watch the game? We always have a clear conscience because we aren't doing anything wrong.

[jalebi_bhai]

As long as the cricket is clean, I don`t see the problem. I don`t care that my doctor paid 40% in black money when he bought his house.

Has there been a single season of the IPL without controversy? You may not care about your doctor's dubious dealings, but if that money is being used to supply Ammonium Nitrate for terrorism, then it becomes a law and order issue. I'm dealing in a lot of hypotheticals, but reality is stranger than fiction.