BOMBAY, 31 January 2003 — The Indian team is now in South Africa and perhaps glad for it. The few days they had at home between the return from New Zealand and departure to South Africa were probably the most hectic they would have had what with functions and commercial obligations to meet. Just like at the meetings of the Board of Control for Cricket in India the word cricket would never have been even thought of at these functions and endorsement opportunities. The one thing that is invariably talked about when the Indian team fails to do well is the advertisements they appear in.
It is as if the players were appearing in the commercial minutes before they went out to play. That could well be due to the ad spots being telecast before the game begins or in the breaks between overs and wickets but the fact is that the player has shot for the commercial months earlier. Still because the viewer gets bombarded with the ads at the end of every over the disappointment at the performance gets transferred into rage against the player and his ad.
If the team is winning then the ads are actually enjoyed and copied and repeated by the viewers but that’s a typical Indian response. With success everything is forgotten, with failure even the minutest fault is made into huge defect. In a career which can be pretty short it is understandable if the player tries to enhance his income and standard of living but as Sachin Tendulkar put it a player has to do well on the field to get endorsements off it.
If a player is failing then his ads are not seen for no sponsor would want to associate their product with a failure. So long as the players remember this there will not be a problem. The problem is for youngsters and newcomers who do not know when to say ‘no’. They are naturally excited at the prospect of being seen in print or on TV endorsing a product and so are not always aware of what is good for them or not.
While nobody will mind if the players do the shoots during their off days and when there are long gaps between matches. There is good reason to object when on the eve of a match they spend their rest time in shooting. It has happened time and again in recent years where on the eve of a match a player has after practice in the morning spent the entire afternoon in the scorching sun shooting for an advertisement. He has harmed himself for he has not only not given his body rest on the eve of a match but mentally too he has lost focus.
That’s why it is good to see the BCCI putting in the clause of no shooting for commercials during the World Cup and hopefully it will be part of the players’ contracts whether they are playing in India or overseas. On the recently concluded tour of New Zealand in spite of the pathetic performances there were lots of players who shot for commercials after practice and so did not help their and the team’s cause. It is this that the players need to think about and be honest to themselves whether it leaves them physically and mentally fresh for the game the next day even if it is a day-night game.
Players appearing in advertisements is not a recent phenomenon though the frequency of that and the number of products endorsed has increased substantially over the years. It may come as a surprise for many but Indian cricket’s first superstar Col. C.K. Nayudu appeared in a commercial too. Not many are aware of it and thanks to an enterprising young publisher Theo Braganza the rare photograph was obtained and published in the biography of the great man.
Some media persons and some self-appointed experts who were criticizing the trend of advertising by players were upset about that photograph being published because it debunked their theory that appearing in commercials was a recent attitude. To his credit Theo Braganza did not submit to pressure and since the Indian team was doing well at that stage the tirade against advertising also died a natural death. As written earlier when the team is doing well the advertisements in which the players appear are enjoyed and when the team is doing badly then they become an eyesore and a readymade, easy reason to blame them.
Cricketers in India are used more than other sportspersons for endorsing products though of course there have been others who also have done commercials and perhaps at a lesser fee than the cricketers. It was thus heartwarming to hear that Leander Paes does not accept any fees when playing in the Davis Cup or in the Olympics and Asian Games. What a wonderful example this is and in spite of not taking a paisa he goes out there for his country and gives everything.
In fact when Leander plays Davis Cup one can almost see the Indian tri-color wrapped around his body as he throws himself everywhere getting bruised but still on his feet again to ensure that the opponents never get an easy point. If only the Indian cricketers would follow that example. To be sure there are a couple of players who have the same attitude like Leander when playing for India but the others are not really bothered about the team’s performance as long as they have done well individually. So we see instead of finishing matches by carrying on players who have achieved personal landmarks are throwing it away and then suddenly finding that the rest are unable to carry on and as a consequence the team has lost.
The tour of New Zealand not only exposed the limitations of some players but it also showed starkly their thinking and attitude. With the World Cup due to start shortly and not wanting to demoralize any player there were not too many critical comments about that kind of approach but if the same persists and India does not win the cup or get into the last four then these players better beware for the public will be unforgiving and so will the sponsors.
They can then kiss all the endorsements goodbye but if they win then only the heavens will be the limit! (Professional Management Group)
