BOMBAY, 30 August — Today, cricket has rightfully earned its place amongst the richest of sports, gaining prime attention on television and commanding rather than seeking the support of the biggest brand names in the corporate world.
And to think that just about three decades ago, frustrated players were up in arms against those who set their own agenda of governance and matters of discipline. Thus the first rebel was born in the form of Ian Michael Chappell.
A revolt by a handful who played for a mere pittance and the gutsy defiance of a young business tycoon, who risked his all to bring the establishment to its knees, had sowed the seeds of the big boost that was to follow.
A no-nonsense man, Ian Chappell was not fully satisfied by merely being conferred the Australian captaincy, though he proved a highly successful one at that. He wanted a decent enough pay to go with it, as indeed for all those who played alongside of him.
He decided to deliberately breach discipline by violating the logo code. Though not permitted to do so, he sported a shoe-manufacturer’s logo on his playing apparel, as he took the field for a Sheffield Shield game. Sure enough, he was pulled up and asked to appear before Australian Cricket Board’s disciplinary committee. Sure enough, he was punished.
At the very same time, Kerry Baltimore Packer of Channel Nine was taking on the ACB as well for the TV rights of Australian cricket. Having been denied the rights, he decided to float a parallel authority to run the game.
Large-scale exodus began with no less than 40 top cricketers from Australia and the West Indies, to start with, joining Packer and his World Series Cricket. Football grounds were used to promote a series of limited-overs matches with attractive changes in the rules to bring in more entertainment value.
The crisis in the cricket world and its aftermath paved the way for a whole new format of an exciting limited-overs game, in contrast to the traditional five-day Test match. The shorter version became an instant hit and brought in its wake new marketing concepts.
The traditionalist may have died a thousand deaths but there is no escaping the fact that overs-limited cricket had come to stay. The financial status of the players improved beyond all perception. Big sponsorships, highly lucrative logo-deals followed the live coverage of matches on television.
It was left to an Indian, Jagmohan Dalmiya to be precise, to exploit further the marketing aspects of the game in a multidimensional manner. It was he who brought to light the fact that television rights were being terribly undersold. During the two World Cups that were held in the subcontinent, he put such high price-tags on TV rights that astounded many.
During his tenure as the ICC chairman, he started the ICC tournaments (mini World Cup) which helped to provide a further boost to the finances of the world body. Thanks to his efforts, the ICC is today in a position to not only have well-paid huge staff on its secretariat, but can also be in a position to bear the burden of having an elite panel of umpires and match referees on its payroll
India’s international crickleters are today not only amongst the best paid in the world, they are also able to exploit their own tremendous popularity toward earning millions through endorsement deals.
Let’s be honest. Apart from the pride associated with wearing an India cap, the huge money in the game these days is as great an inducement for any youngster to strive to earn the highest honor of representing the country.
Money, they say, is the root of all evil, more so, if there is abundance of it. There is far too much money in world cricket these days and a virtual rat race has begun. Big sponsors are reaching out for protection from a queerly-termed "ambush marketing". It has set off a turmoil of sorts in international cricket. Unreasonable contracts are either being pooh-poohed or reluctantly signed. The first major test of the new dispensation in which cricketers have to play, is only two weeks away. The situation is still very nebulous.
Will the clock be turned back thirty years to the first big revolt in the game? Will another one like Kerry Packer come to the fore to entice the big stars, at present in a defiant mood, to form a rival cricket promotion?
The ICC cannot afford to be a house divided against itself. The days when cricketers were treated like domesticated pets have long gone. Today, they are equal partners and must be offered contracts that are fair and equitable. You cannot displease them to pander to one or two big sponsors because there are so many more standing in the queue.
ICC must seek a permanent solution and not go for momentary, uneasy peace.
