How Cricket & IPL is Destroying Many Sports and Potential Careers in India
Cricket has a certain status in India that is not matched anywhere, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) has only amplified this even further.
While IPL has transformed cricket into a glamorous, multi-billion-dollar industry, it succeeded so dramatically that its success began to cause quite a few issues affecting other sports and their aspiring players in India.
Here’s an inside view of how the focus on cricket and the IPL is hitting the sport’s broader ecosystem in the country.
Allure of IPL: A financial as well as cultural powerhouse
A mere cricket league, IPL has proven to be something much more than this. The IPL brand value went up to $6.19 billion in the year 2021, and is generated from huge revenues drawn from sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and merchandise sales.
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In the year 2023, the IPL franchise alone raked in over ₹48,000 crores, and the best domestic players bagged annual deals worth ₹15 to ₹18 crores.
This financial clout leads to a promising career prospect for young cricketers. At the same time, however, it diverts cricketing talent toward other sports, and the opportunities and financial security are still minimal.
A comparison would indicate that an IPL player earns on average ₹1.5 crore per year against what a hockey, athletics, or badminton athlete earns.
Neglect of Non-Cricket Sports
The obsession with cricket in India has left many other sports fighting for space and resources. For example:
Hockey: Despite being India’s national sport, hockey receives a fraction of the funding and attention that cricket receives. The Hockey India League (HIL), an attempt at recreating IPL, was scrapped in 2017 as no viewership or sponsors were found.
Athletics and Other Sports: Sports like athletics, wrestling, and boxing, that grab India international laurels, go to waste for want of facilities and finance. India bagged seven medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but the training budgets for most Olympic sports are puny compared to what is invested in cricket.
Football and Basketball: Leagues like the Indian Super League in football and Pro Basketball League command fewer media looks, which are otherwise provided to cultivate grassroots support.
Imbalanced Resource Disbursement
The more disturbing factor is that the unevenly allocated resources aggravate the problem. For instance:
1. In 2022-23, cricket received over 60% of private sports sponsorship in India, leaving other sports to share the remaining fraction. This imbalance limits the growth of sports ecosystems that require sustained investment to thrive.
2. Government schemes like Khelo India aim to promote diverse sports, but their funding remains insufficient to counter cricket’s dominance.
Talent Drain and Career Constraints
The IPL has distracted most of the world’s talent from other sports. Its monetary payoffs and celebrity culture make cricket an alternative for young players.
This shift means Indian potential champions will find their way elsewhere outside India, thereby impacting India’s general performance on the global stage in disciplines such as wrestling, weightlifting, or gymnastics.
Also, non-cricket athletes face short careers and hazy futures post-retirement. While the lifer in IPL cricket moves on to commentary or coaching or endorsement deals, other sports athletes tend to flounder without options.
Media and Cultural Influence
Media plays a big role in cricket’s hegemony. IPL matches fill most of the prime-time slots, leaving little space for other sports in terms of visibility.
Cricket’s glamour is also enhanced by the fact that Bollywood celebrities endorse teams in IPL, creating an aspirational pull that a few other sports can create.
The Way Forward
In order to balance the sports ecosystem in India, it is first necessary to:
Investment in Other Sports: Governments and corporate sponsors need to invest more in other sports. Leagues for hockey, football, and kabaddi must be restarted and encouraged.
Diversified Media Strategy: More media coverage will help lesser-known sports. The key is to use prime-time slots and tale tales of athletes from different walks of life.
Grassroots Development: Finding young talent at the grassroots level in various disciplines is much needed. Increasing initiatives such as Khelo India and then implementing it properly will reduce the gaps created presently.
Rewarding Non-Cricket Athletes: Providing a monetary reward and career benefits for athletes beyond cricket will encourage children to take up sports careers other than cricket.
IPL has, without a doubt brought cricket to an all-time high, but its unbridled success has unintentionally relegated other sports to the background. India’s sporting talent needs to be mainstreamed and not be confined or overshadowed by only cricket.
By spreading investments, encouraging grassroots initiatives, and expanding media focus, India can become a multi-sport powerhouse. Having this balance will be crucial in nurturing varied athletic potential and enriching sports development equitably in the country.
