After a decline in ratings, advertisers interest and viewership, a spot-fixing controversy has put the Indian Premier League cricket tournament on a sticky wicket.
On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended five players — Mohnish Mishra (Pune Warriors India), Shalabh Srivastava (Kings XI Punjab), T P Sudhindra (Deccan Chargers) , Amit Yadav (Kings XI Punjab ) and Abhinav Bali with immediate effect, on completion of an inquiry into charges of taking money to ‘fix’ matches.
The decision was taken after a conference call among top BCCI officials this afternoon. “The above players would not be entitled to participate in any cricket match played under the aegis of the BCCI while under suspension. A preliminary inquiry headed by Ravi Sawani, the former chief of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit ” said N Srinivasan, BCCI president.
Yesterday, a leading television news channel claimed to have blown the lid off ‘murky deals’ in the IPL among players, organisers, owners and big guns of Indian cricket. In the TV sting operation, an IPL player said he was getting Rs 1.45 crore from its owner whereas he was in the Rs 30 lakh slab.
IPL’s Governing Council had sought video footage from the TV channel and is understood to have scrutinised the tapes before taking the decision of suspending the players.
According to agency reports, Srinivasan admitted he was taken aback by the sting operation, and reiterated zero tolerance towards corruption in cricket. “Some evidence has been found against some players.We will not tolerate this nonsense. We have zero tolerance on corruption, and you will not be disappointed by the action we take,” he said.
Brand experts say if the spot-fixing claims are proven and becomes a major scandal, it would not only dilute the image of the league but also shake advertisers. After being compared to the Superbowl for the Indian market in the first three years, IPL as a brand has suffered due to embezzlement charges against its former chief organiser, Lalit Modi, leading to his suspension as commissioner, expulsion of teams, numerous court cases, including investigations by the Enforcement Directorate and foreign exchange law violation charges on team owners, among others.
“For the past two years, there has been a series of controversies at regular intervals and also lack of transparency. The impact could probably been seen in the next season,” said Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands.
| MAJOR CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING IPL April 2010: Spat between IPL boss Lalit Modi and Union minister Shashi Tharoor on Twitter over ownership of Kochi Tuskers. BCCI suspends Modi over alleged acts of misdemeanour and issues a showcause notice. Enforcement Directorate probes corruption charges against Modi and violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act October 2010: BCCI terminates contract with Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab over breach of contracts; asks Kochi to submit clear ownership structure December 2011: Both teams file case against BCCI in Bombay High Court, which asks the franchisees to file an affidavit containing details of ownership pattern, mode of control and appoints an independent arbitrator. Courts says termination of IPL franchise was flawed and on flimsy grounds; both teams are back in IPL Sept 2011: Kochi Tuskers franchise terminated for breach of terms and inability to furnish a new bank guarantee for 2011 Feb 2012: Sahara withdraws from Pune Warriors' ownership just hours before the players' auction, as several requests put forth by it with regards to players and the number of matches were not accepted by BCCI. The two-week deadlock ends after BCCI agrees to Sahara’s demands, including the team playing five foreign players May 14, 2012: Leading news channel conducts sting operation where players confessed to under-the-table transactions. The sting operation also alleges involvement of Indian cricket stars, international players and team owners May 15, 2012: BCCI suspends five IPL players — Mohnish Mishra (Pune Warriors India), Shalabh Srivastava (Kings XI Punjab), T P Sudhindra (Deccan Chargers), Amit Yadav (Kings XI Punjab ) and Abhinav Bali (first-class cricketer) with immediate effect |
As most tie-ups and sponsorship are up for renewals after this season gets over, fresh valuations post-May 2012 of the billion-dollar IPL brand and of the nine franchises will eventually determine the power of the BCCI to market its money-spinning property.
The world’s richest cricket league was already finding the going tough in its fifth season, with some big sponsors of the past such as LG and Godrej staying away, and Samsung, Micromax and Canon, among others, cutting ad spends. Maxx Mobiles, the mobile handset provider, pulled out as the strategic time-out and official play-off sponsor, with a year’s contract still on.
According to TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media Research, the average rating for the first 47 matches this season has been just 3.4, the lowest so far. Last year, it was 3.54. In season 3, it had clocked 4.53.
