The Indian Premier League is turning the languorous game of cricket into a fast-moving and profitable spectacle, says Simon Wilson. Purists may complain – but is it here to stay?
What’s Twenty20?
It’s a one-day game of cricket. The 20 refers to the fact that there are just 20 overs per team compared with the typical 50. This is to encourage exciting play and rapid scoring. A good score in a 50-over game is about 300, or six per over; a winning Twenty20 side often has to score more than ten runs an over, until now an almost freakishly fast rate. A game lasts about three hours, making for a manageable one-off television event.
Games also attract more families and women who want an exciting evening out. Detractors say Twenty20 is a bastard son of the noble game – more akin to baseball. But many top cricketers argue that the rough-and-ready skills it requires are valuable and will make Tests more exciting.
How long has it been going?
Invented five years ago in England as a way of revitalising interest in the county game, it has been hugely successful and has spread rapidly around the world. Writer Ashish Nandy once suggested that “cricket is an Indian game accidentally invented by the British”, and it’s India where Twenty20 has taken off, accelerating the shift in power from old cricketing giants England and Australia to the subcontinent.
Traditionalist India used to scorn even one-day internationals, refusing to take part until 1981, before embracing them after a famous victory at the 1983 World Cup. Immediately, Test audiences slumped, as everyone wanted to watch the new, exciting form of the game. Twenty20 has followed a similar pattern.
How’s that?
India treated Twenty20 as a joke until last year, sending a team of second-stringers and youngsters to the first Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. The team won, causing a sensation. Spotting an opportunity, a media group with no cricket rights decided to start a league, offering players up to $1m to join its unofficial Indian Cricket League, attracting several second-string or older players from around the world.
The BCCI, India’s cricket authority, forced to protect its interests, started its own, more lucrative authorised version – the Indian Premier League. This has drawn the world’s top players; investors from the cream of Bollywood to Lachlan Murdoch and 400,000 spectators in the first week.
Indian Premier League: what’s the format?
Working with TV rights/sports management group IMG, the BCCI has become one of the richest sports organisations in the world, with annual revenues of more than $1bn. The IPL is modelled on Premier League football and America’s NFL. Teams are based in eight cities. Each is owned by a consortium of investors or a wealthy individual, and teams bid for the best players from around the world.
After inviting bids with a guide price of £25m, the BCCI sold off the eight franchises for far more: from £34m for the Rajasthan Royals to £56m for the Mumbai Indians, bought by Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man. That’s good money (Aston Villa recently went for £62m) and a sign that big business is taking the IPL very seriously indeed.
Indian Premier League: what do the players think?
They can hardly believe their luck. When Australian tycoon Kerry Packer tried to take over international cricket in the 1970s by starting his own tournament, he did it with rebel players who sacrificed their international careers. This time round, the IPL is officially sanctioned; such is the power of the BCCI and its one-billion strong audience, national cricket boards are in no position to argue.
And the sums on offer mean players are unlikely to complain either. India’s Twenty20 hero Mahendra Singh Dhoni is earning £750,000 for six weeks’ work, and 70 more are being paid sums starting at £125,000. Top Australians are cashing in, including ‘retired’ stars like Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, plus the cream of every other cricketing power – except England.
Indian Premier League: why can’t England stars play?
We are the only major nation whose cricket season clashes with the IPL’s short April/May slot. The IPL is eager to attract English stars. Kevin Pietersen in particular has been vocal about his desire to join in the fun. In a poll for the professional cricketers’ association, 35% of England internationals said they would consider quitting Tests to play in the IPL. In Packer’s day, this would have led to boycotts and ruined careers. Now, money talks and compromises will be found. Next year, the IPL may try to bring its season forward a few weeks.
England also looks set to hit back with its own ‘EPL’ – backed by West Indies-based Texan cricket nut (and billionaire) Sir Allen Stanford, possibly as early as 2009. Either way, the notoriously languorous game of cricket just got a lot more exciting.
Cricket – a hotbed of political tension
International cricket is in turmoil, with tensions strained by accusations of racism and malpractice. In South Africa, the row about selection quotas – which led Kevin Pietersen to jump ship for England – continues to cause dissent. The West Indies, the dominant force in world cricket in the 1980s, has seen cricket slump in popularity along with the international team’s form. Pakistan has seen tours cancelled due to the security situation. And in New Zealand, players are furious that Shane Bond, the country’s best young bowler, has been banned for playing in the renegade ICL. Australia’s top talent is free to play in the IPL thanks to the cancellation of their Pakistan tour – but next year’s rescheduled tour will clash.