Indian corporates, which already own teams in T20 franchise leagues of South Africa, UAE, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and USA as well as The Hundred in England appear hesitant to get into Australia and the Big Bash League which has decided to sell stakes in their teams too. This might just be a strategic reluctance in order to drive the prices down.
Gradually, inexorably, cricket, which is already in the command of the Indian cricket board might be moving beyond official administrative control of such elected bodies to become a plaything of billionaires with huge cash reserves and egos to match. The current Indian monopoly other cricket boards complain about will be nothing compared to the corporate oligarchy that might follow. The International Cricket Council has formed a committee to assess the growing power of the franchises, with Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal as chairman. It is looking to align franchise leagues with the Future Tours Programme and planning a World Club T20 tournament. And what will the ICC do if the committee decides that monopoly is not good for the game, as indeed it isn’t? Will the ICC create sensible rules to prevent too much power resting in the hands of too few? The game appears to be thriving, which accounts for the huge corporate interest. Cricket boards around the world for all their faults have a default job description — develop the game at the grassroots, retain its character and distinctiveness through the red ball game, spread it across the world, and ensure a clear-cut path from the schools to the international level. There is corruption (and not just financial), th—re is political interference, sometimes even outright laziness, but the game has prospered. Corporates don’t have confusing goals. Theirs is a single-point programme involving just the bottom line, or return on investment. In recent decades cricket has become huge business, but to hand over the game to businessmen might not be in its best interests. Reliance (Mumbai Indians) and GMR (Delhi Capitals) own or have stakes in four other franchises, in England, South Africa, UAE and the US. Players cannot serve two masters, and it is possible that club contracts might come into conflict with those with the board. But it assumes a level of enlightenment in those controlling the game that might not always be available.
There are 16 leagues around the world. There were 87 teams in this year’s T20 World Cup cycle. And cricket (T20) returns to the Olympics at Los Angeles in 2028.
Giving in to India’s demands was in the DNA of the sport’s governing body long before the current Chairman Jay Shah took over. How long before the Board of Control for Cricket in India eases its rule of not allowing active Indian players to play in other leagues?