Its all about business!

Nothing sells better than cricket in a country starved of sporting heroes’ — this was the talk of the evening. In conversation with V Krishnaswamy, senior sports editor and media director for the Delhi Dare Devils, Vijay Santhanam, one of the authors of the book – The Business of Cricket, said that every game needs a business model to sustain itself. In India, cricket had a lion’s share of fanfare, he said. “Both the 50-over oneday game and the Twenty20 format have made it a winning game. So, if you are not much of a cricket-lover, you can still make out which of the two teams won.” Having said that, the author mentioned that the number of cricket-watchers had indeed greatly increased and that had also made it an attractive business proposition.During the launch, Vijay Santhanam, a sports enthusiast and the writer of If cricket is a Religion, then Sachin is God, stated, “The marketing skills of those who run Indian cricket must come in for praise, along with the appeal the game has in the country. The board earns money through sponsorships, match fees, TV rights and also, its share from the ICC, as profits of the World Cup and the ICC Trophy.” Having a finger in the cricket pie helps one be in public eye. And so for bureaucrats and the businessmen, who over the years have started becoming a star in the eyes of the public, cricket has been a major investment, he opined. “How can one forget Lalit Modi, one of the popular cricketing bureaucrats, who was on television, newspapers and on the internet, making news of creating a cricket league in India,” wondered the author.Though Shyam Balasubramanian, the second author of the book, and Robin Singh, the chief guest of the evening, couldn’t make it to the launch, Vijay briefed out how important sports was in marketing for cricketers too. “While the businessmen make a good business out of cricket, the players are no less. The players, who rake in the moolah from the sport, are definitely the legendary ones. Top Indian players are sitting on a gold mine,” said the author. He also pointed out that cricket was not a lucrative job for the cricketers.“They squeeze into the auction bid by the IPL to take home whatever they get.” Ayaz Menon, writer and sports journalist, who was also present at the launch, brought up the case of Malinga, who was kept away from cricket for 16 months, due to chronic knee injury.“Malinga chose IPL over his country. He found ways to play for his IPL franchises while Sri Lanka was preparing for international fixtures.He was pulled out of the central contract. And as he could not play, there was no other source of income.” But stating the facts of business in cricket, the author threw up a question to the audience — would any other sport create a buzz as cricket did? “We have gone past those days, when cricket was played as a sport.Now it’s all about bidding and becoming a billionaire in one night. Cricket is no longer just play. It is a high-stakes game driven by money and politics. Perhaps, a sport like football or basketball would bring in a little change in the Indian sports management,” said Vijay and added that the book talked about good sports marketing and why fans needed to be treated better.