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The Business Of Cricket In India: How The Sport Became A Multibillion-Dollar Industry

We all have our favourite pastimes. Some of these pastimes turn into such a beloved, refined art that it eventually mushrooms into a televised worldwide phenomenon. Cricket is no exception to that. Many people have no idea how cricket works while for others, particularly in India, it’s what they look forward to all day.

This sport, long since evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry, has ridden primarily on the back of broadcasting and sponsorships. Its popularity “rockets” far beyond India just as the cricket ball does itself. We will talk about the path the sport has taken thus far today.

Origins

While there is consensus that the sport originated in England, the history is so rich that people cannot say when it truly began. It’s generally stated to have existed since the 16th century. Britain spread a great variety of its traditions all over the globe, and the sport was one of them. It was initially played by British officers and elite Indian communities but then gained traction among the rest of the locals. In 1932, cricket took the international stage when the country played its first test match at Lord’s against England.

After India gained its independence, the sport’s popularity took off. When India enjoyed a historic victory in the 1983 World Cup led by Kapil Dev and an underdog team against the West Indies, it sparked a whole new cricket craze in the country. Later on, in the 1990s, the Indian government decided to liberalize its economy. Suddenly, there was a rush of new income for Indian cricket, as for the country in general, with stars rising like Rohit Sharma of the Mumbai Indians.

Economic liberalisation of Indian cricket

Thus, cricket has evolved from a gentleman’s game into a high-stakes enterprise, seeing rapid commercialization since the opening of the Indian economy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India started leveraging television rights and sponsorships first and foremost to boost revenue, a highlight of which was in 2006 when the BCCI decided to sell television broadcasting rights through competitive bidding, fetching a record-breaking deal.

Bidders included:

• ESPN
• Star India
• Sony
• Disney+ Hotstar
• JioCinema

This revenue-centric approach stuck around ever since.

Sponsorships

This is another massive cash cow for the sport accounting for 17% of its revenue, only second to broadcasting. This includes all types of industries, such as:

• Apparel
• Fintech: like PayTM transfer service
• Beverages, including Pepsi
• Electronics, like Vivo

Like in US sports, many famous cricketers get paid for personal endorsements of brands, including Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kholi. On top of that, the Indian Premier League was launched in 2008, which would forever change the face of Indian cricket. It took a franchise-based model similar to American sports like the NBA, NFL, and MLB. It allowed private investors, Bollywood celebrities, and corporate giants to own teams. Thus, by the 2010s, the sport had ballooned into an economic powerhouse.

Other revenue sources for the league are merchandise, such as hats and jerseys, as well as live game attendees paying for tickets and buying food and beverages. The sport is extremely popular today. For comparison’s sake, the Super Bowl in the United States (the American Football championship) is the most watched sporting or television event in the United States every year; however, it still has not eclipsed 130 million viewers. The Cricket World Cup meanwhile has eclipsed 1 billion viewers in a match India played against its bitter rival Pakistan.

Impact of the Indian Premier League

The IPL was created in light of the growing success of Twenty20 cricket, which was faster-paced and more viewer-friendly than traditional formats. In Twenty20, there is just one innings played with 20 overs and 120 legal balls thrown. So games took place faster and thus were more digestible for viewers sitting at home. This league introduced a format where teams also competed in a round-robin league followed by playoffs, all within the span of a few weeks.

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Besides franchise ownership, a player auction was a newly introduced feature in which teams bid for top domestic and international players, creating a spectacle for fans and a profitable event for organizers. The highest bids attract the biggest stars and this turned cricketers into global commodities.

The IPL accounts for the vast majority of revenue generated for the sport in the country. In 2017, Star India secured a five-year deal worth about 2.5 billion USD. It’s extremely popular also in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Countries where it’s also quite popular are:

• UAE
• South Africa
• Australia
• the UK
• Saudi Arabia
• the Caribbean

Biggest following within the IPL

The face of Indian cricket right now is star Virat Kolhi, who is undoubtedly one of the most influential and marketable cricket players. He has an Instagram account of 150 million followers. Famous for his aggressive and passionate playing style, he is great at chasing down runs in high-pressure situations. His net worth is currently about 126-127 million dollars.

The most popular Indian cricket teams at the moment are:

• Mumbai Indians: currently lead the league in total titles won, led by Rohit Sharma
• Chennai Super Kings: decorated history, led by MS Dhoni
• Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Delhi Capitals: strong contenders
• Kolkata Knight Riders: have won the IPL twice and boast an international roster

These teams are worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Online presence

This has enabled a much larger reach among a more diverse audience, particularly among millennials and Gen-Z-ers who enjoy watching matches on live streams and on-demand. Disney+ Hotstar bolsters its online presence with the rights to show matches. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have become vital tools for fan engagement with teams and players capitalizing on their large following to speak their minds whenever they have a thought or wish to market brands for compensation.

This also opened up the door to virtual ads and sponsorships for people who watch replays or highlights. Consequently, women’s cricket has been able to grow as well.

The future of cricket: spreading its geographical presence

Since the commercialization of this sport began and it started being heavily marketed, people in a lot of other regions have taken interest who don’t have a particular prior history with the sport. Currently, leagues are developing in the United States and Canada. Another reason that has brought this on has been the growing South Asian diaspora in both countries.

The United States launched a new league in 2020, involving NFL legend Larry Fitzgerald as an investor. It uses a franchise-based format like the NFL and the IPL where teams compete to win a championship. The first season was played in 2023, bringing together both international stars and local American talent for a total year’s revenue of 8 million dollars.

Its six teams play in:

• New York
• Washington DC
• Texas
• Seattle
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco

Canada

Global T20 Canada was launched in 2018. There is actually evidence cricket had been played in Canada at some point long ago but its popularity then fell off. Now a league has gained traction, particularly in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.

For more news articles and informative updates on the development and progress of cricket in India as well as other football and cricket updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com.

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