IPL

Cricket in India has yet again attracted top dollar, this time for the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the process, BCCI has ensured that Mukesh Ambani will lock horns with Vijay Mallya while Shah Rukh Khan will face off against Preity Zinta as their teams take to the field.

The Reliance Industries chairman has acquired the Mumbai franchise in IPL for $111.9 million over a 10-year period while the flamboyant chairman of UB Group has won the Bengaluru franchise for $111.6 million. Both Mr Ambani and Mr Mallya had bid more than twice the floor price of $50 million per franchise set by the board. SRK’s Red Chillies Entertainment won the Kolkata franchise for $75 million.

The biggest surprise was the Chandigarh franchise, which went to Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, together with Apeejay Surrendra’s Karan Paul and Dabur scion Mohit Burman for $75 million.

IPL is yet another show of strength for cricket. Originally conceived as a riposte to Subhash Chandra’s rebel Indian Cricket League, IPL is set to become the biggest money-spinner in cricket today. The league has been modelled on other professional sports leagues like the English Premier League (EPL) and National Basketball Association (NBA).


IPL is also further proof that, in spite of a few blips, cricket still rules the roost for marketers, who want visibility for their brands. Just over two years ago, BCCI had raised a total of $945 million in media, kit and team sponsorship over four years from Nimbus, Nike and Sahara, respectively. This amount has already been eclipsed by the revenues that IPL will generate for BCCI over 10 years (but much lesser cricket time). In all, the board has raked in nearly $724 million from the franchise bids alone, and adding income from media, IPL has fetched it nearly $1.75 billion (approx. Rs 7,000 crore).

India's charismatic one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni emerged as the hottest property in world cricket after being sold out for a staggering USD 1.5 million dollars (approx Rs 6 crore) in a landmark auction which marked the beginning of a lucrative new era in cricket.

The 26-year-old Dhoni set the tempo for the first ever auction of world's top cricketers when he was acquired by the Chennai franchisee for a three-year period, adding another mind-boggling chapter of monetary gains in the BCCI's multi-million dollar Indian Premier League scheduled to begin in mid-April.

Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who recently made headlines for being at the centre of a racial row involving Harbhajan Singh, proved that the controversy had not dented his brand value as he attracted the second highest price of USD 1.35 million (appro Rs 5.4 crore) with the Hyderabad team securing his services.

Flamboyant Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya, despite being aged 38, was sold out to Ambani-owned Mumbai team for a whopping Rs 3.9 crore, while Australian speedster Brett Lee (Rs 3.6 crore), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Rs 3.6 crore), Harbhajan Singh (Rs 3.4 crore), West Indian opener Chris Gayle (Rs 3.2 crore) and retiring Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist (Rs 2.8 crore) were some of the other big draws.

THE BIG GUNS :

MS Dhoni, Chennai $ 1.5 million
Shane Warne, Jaipur $ 450 000
Adam Gilchrist, Hyderabad $ 700,000
Mahela Jayawardena, Mohali $ 475 000
Mutiah Muralitharan, Chennai $ 600,000
Shoaib Akhtar, Kolkata $ 425,000
Anil Kumble Bangalore $ 500,000
Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai, $ 850,000
Sanath Jayasuriya, Mumbai, $ 975,000
Kumar Sangakkara, Mohali, $ 700,000.
Ricky Ponting, Kolkata, $ 400,000
Brett Lee, Mohali, $ 900,000
Daniel Vettori, Delhi, $ 625,000
Matthew Hayden, Chennai, $ 375,000
Brendan McCullum, Kolkata, $ 700,000
Jacob Oram, Chennai, $675,000.
Stephen Fleming, Chennai, $ 350,000.
Graeme Smith, Jaipur, $ 475,000.
Herschelle Gibbs, Hyderabad, $ 575,000.
Chris Gayle, Kolkata, $ 800,000.
Shoaib Malik, Delhi, $ 500,000.
Shahid Afridi, Hyderabad, $ 675,000.
Younis Khan, Jaipur, $ 225,000.
Mohammad Asif, Delhi, $ 650,000.
Jacques Kallis, Bangalore, $ 900,000
Zaheer Khan, Bangalore, $ 450,000.
S Sreesanth, Mohali, $ 625,000.
Dinesh Kaarthick, Delhi, $ 525,000.
A B de Villiers, Delhi, $ 300,000.
Mark Boucher, Bangalore, $ 450,000.
Parthiv Patel, Chennai, $ 325,000.
Kamran Akmal, Jaipur, $ 150,000.
Albie Morkel, Chennai, $ 675,000
Ajit Agarkar, Kolkata, $ 350,000
Shaun Pollock, Mumbai, $ 550,000
Irfan Pathan, Mohali, $ 925,000
Scott Styris, Hyderabad, $ 175,000
Farveez Mahroof, Delhi, $ 225,000
Tillakaratne Dilshan, Delhi, $ 250,000
Cameron White, Bangalore, $ 500,000
Yusuf Pathan, Jaipur, $ 475,000
Joginder Sharma, Chennai, $ 225,000
Gautam Gambhir, Delhi, $ 725,000
Robin Uthappa, Mumbai, $ 800,000
V V S Laxman, Hyderabad, $ 375,000
Wasim Jaffer, Bangalore, $ 150,000
Rohit Sharma, Hyderabad, $ 750,000
Mohd Kaif, Jaipur, $ 675,000
Suresh Raina, Chennai, $ 650,000
Manoj Tiwary, Delhi, $ 675,000
Chamara Silva, Hyderabad, $ 100,000
David Hussey, Kolkata, $ 625,000
Nathan Bracken, Bangalore, $ 325,000
Rudra Pratap Singh, Hyderabad, $ 875,000
Murali Kartik, Kolkata, $ 425,000
Makhaya Ntini, Chennai, $ 200,000
Lasith Malinga, Mumbai, $ 350,000
Chaminda Vaas, Hyderabad, $ 200,000
Ramesh Powar, Mohali, $ 170,000
Umar Gul, Kolkata, $ 150,000
Dale Steyn, Bangalore, $ 325,000
Dilhara Fernando, Mumbai, $ 150,000
Ishant Sharma, Kolkata, $ 950,000
Piyush Chawla, Mohali, $ 400,000
Munaf Patel, Jaipur, $ 275,000
Nuwan Zoysa, Hyderabad, $ 110,000