And for a Friday, India’s most favourite national pastime, IPL-2025 is underway, some thoughts … some musings….
Cricket in general & now IPL is not just a Sport anymore in our country it has transformed into a way of life …….it was in 2007 that India won the inaugural T20 World Cup & the innovative & visionary Lalit Modi hit upon the idea of IPL ….. then based on the English football league ……rest as they say ….. is history …. today with Ten teams & some of the Globally acclaimed cricketers brands like Sachin Tendulkar , Rahul Dravid , MS Dhoni , Virat Kohli … & other Ikons of the game being involved ….. forget the cities…..even in every small town & village IPL is followed with great intensity ……..the best aspect ….world class cricketers & Captains … are shoulder to shoulder with Rookie youngsters who could never imagine sharing the dressing rooms with the Games “all time greats” ……the selection process is mandated accordingly…..IPL 2025 has two such young rookies ….. 13 year old batting sensation from Bihar village -Vaibhav Suryavanshi …. who in his IPL selection Trials .. hit 3 sixes & 2 fours to show his batting prowess …. second highest scorer in the Asia cup Under -19 team … bought in this years auction by RR for a whooping 1.1 crores ….. the other Vignesh Puthur …. son of an Auto driver from Kerala … created a sensational 3 wicket haul for MI on his debut ……. no wonder every young lad dreams of some day being a Professional cricketer …….
Thanks to savvy marketing IPL is almost getting compared to NBA & EPL in the sheer Razzmatazz & fan loyalty being cultivated ….. the opening ceremony with live concerts …. Cheer leaders at every venue …..each team has massive local language coverage ….live Fan interactions with Cricket stars pre & post matches …… this year the 10 teams will earn more than 1300 crores in team sponsorship alone ……every team has 8-10 sponsors …..the digital advt. rate for a 10 second slot is Rs 8.5 lakhs ….the money is big & it creates a huge spinoff secondary & tertiary economic benefits to the Hotel , travel , food & entertainment industry …… I won’t be surprised within the next few years betting will become legalised & the Govt will rake in huge income as taxes ……. Power of Cricket … India’s sporting money spinner …….
Whilst cricket is undoubtedly the King of Sports in India …. Every sport has to be encouraged & is catching up ….. Let’s all support & build the Sports culture ….. the together way ….. the supportive way … the SEEGOS way.