Truthful Tuesday | IPL show must go on or ‘doomsday’ will beckon stakeholders

Well, while I was of the initial thought that the IPL must be cancelled at all costs, it struck me one fine day that if it does get cancelled, what is there for the other stakeholders, the ones that don’t step on the field in 11s and 15s to play the game of cricket? Then, it began to make me think on how they will be affected directly or indirectly because of one decision. What if the government has it in them to stop the spread of the world-storming pandemic? What is there for the other stakeholders? While it seemed to be a simple question upfront, it underlined some of the society’s underlying issues that concern economics and jobs. 

Given that the tournament is huge, it has the ability to decide the fate of some of the national teams. Apart from that, it must surely have an effect on some of the livelihoods as well, right? To make it simple, let us look at stakeholders that may have a direct impact on their livelihood because of IPL. First, freelancers. What does it mean for them if eight teams don’t take the field any time soon for the tournament? Well, to start off, it takes away their two-month-long income, which is a lot for a freelancer, in a country where some of them don’t pay too much to get work done. 

While painstakingly getting work done, the freelancers have to go through some of the hardest time getting through the hierarchy of some of these companies. And, once they do, the time that it takes them to contact all their sources, get all the stories ‘ironed out,’ and chalk out all plans for two-months is irksome. 

“The reason people opt for freelancing is that monetary wise, it offers more than regular jobs. If you get good deals, you are all set. But, those deals obviously depend on the matches. And the IPL is the main time when you can cash in. Get more foreign clients too. It takes time. Like I took 2 months to get a deal with an international client for the IPL. And we were to begin from March 15, to start the countdown and stuff,” Sarah Waris, who works as a freelancer with organisations such as News18 and Quint told SportsCafe. 

It is easy to think that ‘Oh, only Indians are going to get affected by this,’ it’s not true. Several around the globe in varying time-zones depend on the ‘IPL,’ which is more than just a tournament. While most of the time there is a multi-dollar or multi-rupee contract on the line, it will, and can, only go through if the tournament does happen in the first place. Although this does not advocate the league to use the players as ‘guinea pigs,’ it is crucial to understand that if there are no efforts from the league’s end to think about these stake-holders, then we are all in trouble. That, by the way, also includes ‘you,’ who might have planned to go to the stadium to get a glance of the global superstars.  

"As a freelance journalist, broadcaster and podcaster across a few sports, the postponement and cancellation of fixtures worldwide has seen my busy diary completely emptied. My podcast was going to focus on the tournament and I had orders from businesses for written previews and audio throughout the tournament. I appreciate there are bigger forces at play here and that people's health and lives are the keys to all decisions. But from my own perspective, the loss of all of my work is completely crippling,” James Butler told SportsCafe. 

His podcast show, ‘The Cricket Badger,’ will be one of the shows that would be taking a hit if the tournament does not go through. While primarily his audience or the reach is in the United Kingdom, the fact that there are several thousand who are readily itching themselves to get first news and updates on the IPL makes it more fascinating. For a league that has catered to the needs of the Indians and their need of watching ‘more and more cricket,’ it has reached heights that now are difficult to measure on any of the available scales. Economically, it does put them in a spot but otherwise, too, it does hamper them in making the fullest use of their calendar, which has been highly affected thanks to the tournament. 

“The IPL is one of the biggest tournaments in sport, not just cricket. Hopefully, it is only short term pain and we'll be back covering sports again soon, but the spread of the coronavirus is potentially going to empty the sporting calendar for months and that is going to be financially crippling to me and other freelancers who cover cricket and other sports,” Butler added. 

It is just one example of many lives that are crippled by the effects of the gigantic tournament and it pertains to be seen if the BCCI keep an eye and hover over some of these minuscule details that could miss the common eye. While we all can talk about the hunky-dory amount that Star Sports or other media houses cash home, it is boggling to see how the interest of the poorest of poor is ignored. We all love to see an IPL game, going to the stadium and before entering some of the holiest grounds, we tend to glance at some of the peddlers. 

They delight us with the most random of things needed to watch an IPL game, be it face paint, be it the flags, jerseys, pens and stationery stuff. For me, personally, it is that joy that you can not encounter from your flat TV screens, or even for that fact your ‘3-D screens.’ The sheer joy of reaching Chinnawswamy despite having to battle it out with the crowd at the entrance, the IPL is indeed a ‘festival’ in the Indian calendar. 

Moreso, it is a one-off situation, but if the authorities do take all the necessary steps, then it should try to keep the tournament going, be it a ten-day affair or be it a month-long one. What it can’t do at the moment is stop the show, take the sport off people who depend on it for their small share of the lion’s income (read: the peddlers selling those flags for a meagre 100 Rs or them painting your faces red, yellow, blue or whichever team you support for a marginal amount). For the fans, it is so marginal, as we can afford a match-ticket, for them, it is their livelihood, one that they eagerly wait for, more so than we the ‘cricket writers' or fanatics. 

While the tournament has become a money-minded villainous figure, it’s the ability to garner the interest of the small-time sellers, retailers that is just remarkable. We all call for the league not to go through, and, just weeks after, are ready to go out and do our respective 'jobs' because that's the need of the hour. Such is their life in these circumstances. 

Moreso, think of those inside the stadium selling boxes of popcorn, packets of chips and those caterers who have been paid to cater to our needs. What happens to them? Remarkably, the cancellation of the league does not just have an effect on some of the ‘bourgeois,’ it has the ability to take the cash from the cashless. Also, give a think-through on what some of the organisations that have to go through in terms of providing their service for the tournament. Does the league really like seeing a crippling and toppling economy even when the lives of the people are not at stake?

According to the data provided by BCCI, the Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed Rs 11.5 billion ($182 million) to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015. In five years, zeros might have changed, yet the contribution to India’s GDP still remains intact. For the board that has always been looked at from the wrong perspective, the tournament has shown how much they could give back to the country where the roots have been sowed. 

And, if that’s all to see and say, not having an IPL in 2020 might surely come back to haunt many in the picture. Moreso, if it does happen, albeit being in a rather-panicky situation, the buck will stop right there, as life at the end of the day matters more. While life is not at stake, it is pertinent that BCCI must look at some of the lives that can wry without the water that is the IPL.