The Indian Market

Sometime ago. I had written this

1. Why is it so difficult for the rest of the world to understand that their opinion vis a vis the IPL matters not a jot! The only people who can make or break the IPL are the Indians. More specifically, the Indians residents in the 8 cities that make up the ICL teams.

and

4. The BCCI and the individual franchises are going to have a pretty hard time selling the game to their constituents. And not because of the marquee names. The ICC World XI was full of marquee names and we all know what happened to the Super Tests. For the next two years, with the team rosters already set, I wonder what the degree of attachment will be for a team comprising of fewer local and national players and more of international players.

thought that I harked back to when I red the following paragraph from Andrew Miller's article on the EPL

Most crucially of all, the English time zone (as football has discovered) is tailor made for the Indian market, with matches beginning at 9.30pm India time and ending shortly past midnight. Set against that, however, is the difficulty of persuading people to watch. The beauty of the IPL was the richness of the talent in each side - with only eight franchises to choose from, the best players were on show in each and every game.

Now, from a County and EPL perspective, the second point ( of selling the game to their constituents) is a non starter - because of the way the county teams and structured with their foreign imports and the Kolpak players.

What is crucial is the first point.

That the EPL will be a success is not in doubt - 5 years of domestic 20/20 cricket has shown that there are enough patrons willing to spend money and time to have 3 hours of solid entertainment.

But for the EPL to become a real money spinner, the Indian market becomes crucial - get enough eyeballs in India and you have the advertisers queuing up to pay top dollar - unlike the IPL where the English viewership did not make a significant difference to the overall revenues of the enterprise.

And there are plenty of mitigating factors. Here are a few

• Season 2010 sees England host the West Indies and Bangladesh ( with Australia thrown in for good measure). India, in the meantime, will play the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup along with the IPL as a lead up to the inaugural EPL.Season 2011 has the World Cup on the sub continent followed by India's tour to England for 4 tests and 5 ODIs.Because of the way the first two seasons are structured, even if the ECB and the BCCI are willing, Indian player availability is suspect.And if the Indians don't play, Indian spectators don't watch - simple as that.
• Because of the structure of the FTP and because of the Champions Trophy in 2010 and the World Cup in 2011 ( along with the IPL), a lot of the advertising money will be concentrated on these three events. Indian advertising revenue for the EPL - little to none.
• 57 games in 25 days with a TV window of between 9:30 PM and 12:00 AM - even if India is agog with EPL fever, how many eyeballs and for what games?
• Ownership of the teams is by the Counties, unlike the IPL where the free market forces are the final arbiters. Given that there will be a profit sharing mechanism in place ( 18 counties ahead of 9 city based teams is proof enough that there will be a profit sharing dynamic with all of the counties getting a piece of the pie) and given that counties are given annual stipends (?), and given that there will be a salary cap in place, where is the motivation for the counties to field the best teams or to be ultra competitive? I mean, if a second division team stands to earn twice what it does currently just by showing up, what is the motivation to do anything more - just cap the costs to the barest minimum, bring in the money allocated by the ECB and show profits.
• The BCCI - The ECB has been playing hard ball with English player participation in the IPL. Count on the BCCI to reciprocate in kind.And, if the BCCI can persuade the BCB and the PCB to join in, the entire Asian contingent in the stands goes. And with it goes the noise and the color and the vibrancy Asian crowds bring to the cricket field. And that is just the crowd factor.TV rights is another sphere where the BCCI can screw the ECB. And screw it will.
• Zimbabwe - the ECB reversed it stand on the Oval test of 2006, the Indians bailed them out vis a vis the World Twenty20 next year, god knows what other compromises were made - there is a blow back waiting to happen.
• Allen Stanford - and his annual quadrangular featuring the West Indies and England to be held in England. Try fitting all of that ( in addition to the FTP) in a cricket calender that extends from May until August ( September would mean clashing with the other EPL).

I am all for the ECB to make money- that should never be the monopoly of a select few.

But now is a good time as any to remind ourselves that when Jagmohan Dalmiya took over as the head of the ICC in 1996, the ICC was nearly 15-20,000 pounds in the red.

No extra webbing - 2

Remember the controversy over the "extra webbing" on MS Dhoni's gloves during the CB series? If not here is the recap

IN a dramatic twist to yesterday's tri-series clash, Indian skipper MS Dhoni has had the gloves he caught Adam Gilchrist with confiscated during the game by match referee Jeff Crowe.

The unprecedented move by Crowe - the former New Zealand Test captain - followed suggestions from former Australian wicket-keeper Ian Healy during Channel Nine's commentary that the webbing on Dhoni's gloves was illegal.

Imagine my surprise then when I saw the following images on the Cricinfo website







Different strokes for different folks?

One small step

in the right direction

Meanwhile, the list of 20 bowlers - a copy of which is with HT - is expectedly dominated by off-spinners. It may be recalled that on February 6, HT had reported that the list of bowlers with suspect actions was being compiled and 13 bowlers had been identified till then. The bowlers, who were identified by former India captain and the head of BCCI's umpires' wing S Venkataraghavan, underwent a three-week rectification programme under the vigilant eyes of Venkataraghavan and NCA director Dav Whatmore. While some of the bowlers have been cleared, those who still needed assistance are currently stationed in Bangalore.

Not only has the BCCI taken the effort to identify players with suspect actions, but has also taken steps to help rectify the problem instead of discarding the players by the wayside ( as was the norm previous;y).

And to top it off, the NCA is finally functioning as a multi dimensional, multi role organization after being dormant for all these years.

Joy!

Something's not right

A sample taken from random testing at the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League has tested positive, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has confirmed to Cricinfo. This is the first step of the verification process, Modi said, and there are several stages before a player is deemed to have failed the test.

The tests were carried out by IDTM, a Sweden-based independent agency, in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards after the IPL adopted the ICC's anti-doping code. The samples were forwarded to a WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland for testing. "Two days ago the IPL received a letter from the Swiss lab, mandated by WADA, which said one sample had tested positive," Modi said. "The IPL will follow set procedures from now on."

The first step, he said, is to match the identity of the player with the sample. Next, the player's form, filled out before the match, will be scrutinised for any pre-declared or prescribed drug by the IPL medical committee, consisting of an IDTM representative and Dr Anant Joshi; if that matches the drug found in the sample, the matter ends there and the player's name won't be revealed.

If the medical committee investigation reveals the player had not applied or been granted an exemption for using the drug found in the sample, the player, the concerned IPL franchise and national board will be informed in writing of the positive test that violates the anti-doping code. The player has the right to request that his 'B' sample [supplied at the same time as the one that tested positive] be sent for analysis, which he and his representative can attend along with an IPL representative.

If that too is positive, the matter will be taken up by the IPL's drugs tribunal, comprising of Sunil Gavaskar, Dr Ravi Bapat (ex-Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences) and lawyer Shirish Gupte. The tribunal will study the issue and take a decision in accordance with the code. "This is just the procedure," Modi said, "as of now we are at the first stage where one sample has tested positive. The issue is now with the IPL's medical committee. The identity of the player will matter only after we check on the pre-declared drugs."

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The IPL compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland [that tested the samples] with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency that organised the tests, and confirmed Asif as the player whose sample was positive.

The IPL medical committee then scruntinised the form filled by Asif prior to the test to verify but he had not applied for or been granted an exemption for the drug found in the sample. "It was also checked if Asif had applied for and was granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)," an IPL release said. "It was found that Asif had not applied for a TUE. A note in writing has been sent to the player and his home board and to the franchise on the findings."

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The Indian Premier League compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organised the anti-doping testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards, to confirm the player in violation is Mr Mohammad Asif,' the IPL said in a statement.

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Procedurally, the IPL/BCCI have done everything that is required of them - having followed the procedures to a T. Now contrast that with this

A representative of the World Anti-Doping Agency in Pakistan on Monday slammed Indian Premier League organisers for prematurely identifying the player who failed a dope test during the tournament.

The IPL on Monday named Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif as the player who had failed the dope test but as per WADA rules the player could not be identified until his 'B' sample is also analysed.

"The announcement by the IPL is a clear violation of WADA regulations," Dr Danish Zaheer, who also heads the Pakistan Sports Medicine Association, said.

He was of the view that the IPL has violated the World Anti-Doping Code by prematurely disclosing Asif's name.

"The Indian Premier League organisers have made a deviation from the WADA code as IPL should not have made a public disclosure until Mohammad Asif's 'B' sample was checked in the presence of Asif or his legal and medical representative," Zaheer said.

He referred to the result management code of WADA paragraph 7.1, 7.2 and 14.2 regarding public disclosure that provides that athlete be given ample time and opportunity to prove his innocence before public disclosure.

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Director cricket operations PCB Zakir Khan has confirmed that Mohammad Asif was tested positive for a banned substance during random testing on May 30 during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Zakir Khan told media at the Gaddafi Stadium that after receiving a written statement from the Indian Cricket Board, the PCB informed Asif of his dope test result.

He said that now Mohammad Asif has a right to challenge his B sample but he has so far not intimated to the Board.

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Here is the WADA Result Management code ( check Section 7 pg16) and the World Anti-Doping Code ( check Section 14.2 pg 41) - I don't see anything that the IPL has done that contravenes the WADA codes.

It just does not add up!

PS:-

July 15: The banned substance found in Mohammad Asif’s dope test sample during the IPL was nandrolone, a high level Pakistan Cricket Board source has said.

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid which Asif is likely to have consumed for his elbow injury. "It was not clear whether the bowler consumed it orally or if it was injected into his body.

"However, his positive result is above 6 milimole (measuring unit)," the source further said.

Old Summer Whine!

Then

The Indian cricket board yesterday rejected a request from England to change the venues for this winter's tour to the country.

England, due to tour India next March and April, had hoped to persuade the Indian board to shift the three Tests from the proposed venues of Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Bombay.

Although satisfied with Bombay, England prefer to play other matches in traditional centres like Delhi, Bangalore, Madras and Calcutta which have enough hotels to accommodate a large contingent of media and fans.

and now

The Brabourne experience will, however, be the undoubted highlight of an itinerary that has not pleased England's representatives. A statement read: "The ECB are disappointed that, despite their representations, the itinerary doesn't offer the thousands of supporters who follow the England team abroad, the opportunity to experience more of the great cricket grounds of India."