Cauvery hits IPL, knocks matches out of Chennai
CHENNAI/NEWDELHI: Matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which had returned to Chennai after a gap of two years, have been moved out of the city after growing protests against the Central government for its failure to set up a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and demands from political leaders in Tamil Nadu that this was “not the right time” to think of cricket.
Though there was no official confirmation from the local franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), officials familiar with the development said on Wednesday that CSK’s six remaining home matches would be shifted to Pune.
The CSK management reached out to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) after the Board gave it four venue options -- Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Thiruvananthapuram and Pune. “CSK has confirmed that they want to play in Pune. Our ground is ready, we are always prepared. We had been given two IPL play-off matches and now we are very happy to host the CSK matches,” MCA secretary Riyaz Bagwan told Hindustan Times.
The venue for home matches is crucial for all teams because it assures a loyal fan base and revenue generated through ticket sales.
Gate receipts are a significant source of revenue for the IPL franchises. Industry estimates suggest that CSK has made ~25-30 crore a season from gate receipts annually prior to its suspension after officials of the team were found guilty of betting during the 2013 season.
Tamil Nadu moved a contempt plea in the Supreme Court on March 31, seeking action against the Centre for failing to form the CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee within six weeks, as ordered by the court on February 16. On Monday, the SC told the Centre to come up with a draft scheme by May 3.
The sharing of Cauvery waters is the subject of a festering dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
In its February 16 order, the top court marginally increased Karnataka’s share of Cauvery water and ordered a reduction in the allocation for Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has objected to constitution of the Cauvery board. The Tamil film industry, toplined by actor-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, observed a silent protest in Chennai recently.
“It will be nice if IPL is not played this time in Chennai, understanding the plight of the farmers due to severe shortage of water,” Rajinikanth told journalists before heading to the protest site.
On Tuesday, during CSK’s opening home match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, thousands of protesters had descended upon the stadium and choked the surrounding areas. They burnt CSK team jerseys and complained about the wastage of water in the outfield at a time when the city was going through a water shortage. But the police managed to clear and sanitize a route for the players’ vehicles to reach the stadium and also to ferry them back to their hotels.
On Wednesday, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhakam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran blamed the Tamil Nadu government for the violent incidents during the protest against the IPL match. He alleged that police had attacked and registered cases against those who were protesting in a “democratic manner”.
Sports marketing experts doubted whether CSK would be able to replicate its home atmosphere in a different city, but said that the loss of revenue from gate fees may not be significant.
“The single biggest concern for the team will be the kind of fan support in Chennai will be hard to replicate at such short notice,” said Harish Krishnamachar, co-founder at sports consultancy firm Sportoid. “This is CSK’s comeback year, the sponsors aren’t likely to change deals last minute. There could be minor accruals in terms of travel costs that the team will have to additionally account for,” he added.
At present, the team has 12 sponsors including the Muthoot Group, India Cements, Reliance Jio, Frooti and Peter England, among others.
Franchises in sporting leagues are based on brand loyalty and fan support which is only possible when you play at home, said Amrit Mathur, former COO of Delhi Daredevils.
“The biggest loss for CSK would be that they are unable to connect with their fans. They have come back to the IPL after two years and suddenly they have lost out on the fan support in Chennai,” he said.