IPL takes Bollywood to the cricket field

MUMBAI: Cricket in India has yet again attracted top dollar, this time for the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the process, BCCI has ensured that Mukesh Ambani will lock horns with Vijay Mallya while Shah Rukh Khan will face off against Preity Zinta as their teams take to the field. The Reliance Industries chairman has acquired the Mumbai franchise in IPL for $111.9 million over a 10-year period while the flamboyant chairman of UB Group has won the Bengaluru franchise for $111.6 million. Both Mr Ambani and Mr Mallya had bid more than twice the floor price of $50 million per franchise set by the board. SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment won the Kolkata franchise for $75 million. The biggest surprise was the Chandigarh franchise, which went to Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, together with Apeejay Surrendra’s Karan Paul and Dabur scion Mohit Burman for $75 million. IPL is yet another show of strength for cricket. Originally conceived as a riposte to Subhash Chandra’s rebel Indian Cricket League, IPL is set to become the biggest money-spinner in cricket today. The league has been modelled on other professional sports leagues like the English Premier League (EPL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). But in the years to come, it will emulate EPL and NBA when it comes to trading players and club buyouts. Some of the biggest names in international cricket today, such as Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar, have all signed up to play in IPL, and so have Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. The top 80 players in the ICC rankings will be playing in IPL, according to BCCI officials. IPL is also further proof that, in spite of a few blips, cricket still rules the roost for marketers, who want visibility for their brands. Just over two years ago, BCCI had raised a total of $945 million in media, kit and team sponsorship over four years from Nimbus, Nike and Sahara, respectively. This amount has already been eclipsed by the revenues that IPL will generate for BCCI over 10 years (but much lesser cricket time). In all, the board has raked in nearly $724 million from the franchise bids alone, and adding income from media, IPL has fetched it nearly $1.75 billion (approx. Rs 7,000 crore). This amount can only go up once the bids for title and shirt sponsorships come in.