Jhakas | Sanjay Jha
The ongoing brouhaha over the sudden sacking of IMG by IPL-BCCI should not surprise clairvoyant followers of the game (a diminishing minority, no doubt). But what is truly preposterous is the fact that everyone looks so grievously stunned every time BCCI does the singular somersault. Frankly, I am more amused at our horrified and horizontal gaping expressions, our mouths supposedly so wide open in total surprise that the curious onlooker can see what we had for breakfast this morning. Let us keep some things a private health secret.
The IPL-IMG story is clearly a partnership of mutual convenience. IMG did not have to hire mathematical geniuses from HBS or Wharton to create the IPL business model, as it is a literal copy of the English Premier League. The football league is purely driven by massive TV revenues, albeit, it has now become a global craze, and has diversified streams on merchandise sales, player trading, gate receipts and team sponsorships. The IPL did the smart thing by cutting short ICL ambitions which was gathering significant momentum and could have frankly hijacked domestic cricket, had it not been for a freak, providential happening. Out of the blue and totally against rational forecasts, MS Dhoni-led India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. As public frenzy overtook all enlightened common-sense, the BCCI hurriedly created a rival league in IPL, banned ICL as back-street boys doing illegal stuff (with plentiful assistance from a timid ICC) and quickly sold cricket's instant-satisfaction Viagra OTC drug to big egos and sugar daddies who became franchise owners. The rest is history. Continue reading below
I think where IMG went wrong is on openly flouting its special camaraderie with the IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, which given its international reputation as being a professional entity with immaculate credentials, was a bit of a shocker. What was Ravi Krishnan (an IMG representative) doing ostensibly in an honorary capacity with the Rajasthan Royals, headquartered out of Jaipur, the political bastion of Modi, good friend Shane Warne in tow? How did IMG's blue-print allow BCCI office-bearers to have team ownership, India Cements of A Srinivasan in Chennai being the torch-bearer of this flagrant violation of basic ethics? There are several cross-holdings in franchise ownerships which have been apparently pre-engineered. Where is the comprehensive list of all corporate bidders who failed in winning franchises, and by how much? Was the initial distribution essentially a secret sale based on pre-determined valuations to favoured suitors? Did IMG have a role in the proscription of ICL? It seemed IMG had thrown political caution to the winds and seemed ensconced in BCCI's warm embrace. They should have known better (the BCCI is viciously faction-driven in its DNA). I suspect the IPL creation from the very beginning was a manipulated effort, co-hosted by both BCCI and IMG with contemptuous disregard for transparency.
I have worked with IMG before in three separate instances. IMG was the event managers for the world's first Rest of World vs Asia XI match CricketNext.com Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh (April 2000), and the subsequent sequel in Oval, London (July 2000). Besides, we also partnered in bringing Ricky Ponting to India for a coaching clinic. IMG charges a hefty fee but they have outstanding deliverable standards, and are usually uncompromising in their flawless execution. They truly extend their level best to create satisfied customers and are past-masters at deal-making. So why has BCCI summarily fired them?
In my opinion, there is a belated recognition that post-the initial brainchild, IMG will earn cheap money (10% of gross earnings is astronomical by any standards). But shouldn't the BCCI have known that they were giving a huge part of the revenue pie earlier or were they momentarily blinded by merely thwarting the budding challenge from ICL? Who drove the IPL-IMG deal and was it grossly over-sold? Have the sudden windfall gains from the IPL surprised BCCI who are now feeling that IMG has a secured profit stream irrespective of their operating performance which is in any case, separately expensed. Should the 10% gross earnings have been restricted to just the first year or so? There are several unanswered questions and I am assuming that both parties are caught on the wrong-foot on this one, each standing precariously on a banana peel.
IMG's problem is that they are die-hard legal hawks and take their sponsorship contracts more seriously than the threat of swine flu or global warming. It is a typical American mindset, with a massive paranoia based on mutual distrust. The BCCI on the other hand is like our village panchayat where the voice or the "given word" of the veteran local leader is considered sacrosanct, all legal documents be damned. They face an irreconcilable conflict, one obsessed with the jargonized fine print, the other, with a new-found awakening of its mighty riches. Look at how Sharad Pawar has instructed BCCI President Shashank Manohar "to take the final call" and you will know what I mean.
The franchise owners are understandably peeved as they know that IMG is a brand name in event management with global credentials. It helps their perceived market price. I don't think anyone else could have pulled off the South African jamboree in IPL 2 other than the canniest charming negotiator that I have seen this side of the equator, IMG's Andrew Wildblood. IMG, for all their apparent tactlessness in this case, at least is a reliable partner. Even if incredibly unaffordable.
But where Wildblood and Krishnan may have gone wrong is in underestimating the unfathomable abyss that can be the BCCI. Maybe, it is time to read IMG founder Mark McCormack's brilliant What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business (or should we say Law?) School.
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