Towards a more powerful IPL: A well-wisher's view

WHICHEVER way you look at it, this has been a fine edition of the Indian Premier League. It began amidst turbulence but like with all inherently good products, once the cricket began, everything else was forgotten and may it always be that way.

For all the entertainment and talk about its finances, the IPL is a high quality cricket tournament and therein lies its maximum appeal and, dare I say, its sustenance. It can never change.

And now as it completes 10 years, it needs to look ahead with vigour, strength and caution. I choose all three words carefully. It is already the most important sporting property in world cricket.

It may not yet have the heritage of the Ashes, that requires time and careful nurturing, but across a larger population than that affected by the Ashes, it is the most aspirational.

Now it needs to build a heritage and it needs to go beyond being just the richest tournament. If players come to play for the money alone, it will never acquire the respect it deserves.

Yes, people should want to be the highest paid, but they should want an IPL title on their CV, like footballers want a Champions League medal. And I hope the people running the IPL are looking at it this way and, indeed, beyond.

For that to happen, it has to be the best run, the best structured and the most stringently governed T20 league in the world. It cannot afford hiccups like with the ill-fated Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers exercise or indeed, like with the events that led to the disqualification of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

It cannot spend as much time as it has on the front pages and while it is inevitable that it will make the business pages, it must primarily be about the sports pages.

With the two teams returning and other changes in the pipeline, this is a great opportunity to lay down very stringent governance norms. It will be the IPL's biggest strength in the years to come.

I do not know if the plan is to have 10 franchises or stay with eight. Remember 10 franchises means 94 games (every team must play every other, convoluted match structures across pools won't work), that is 34 more than now and so will need at least another three weeks and many more afternoon games.

The Governing Council must look at what the numbers tell them, both financial and viewership.

Yes, 94 games is very do-able but it must then start earlier because too many afternoon games in peak summer do no one any good.

And so if there is a move towards 10 franchises, it must be seen to be a long-term structural change and the new teams must be very carefully scrutinised. Going purely towards the highest bidder is not always the best long-term arrangement.

But the IPL needs to be cautious. As India comes to terms with being out-voted at the International Cricket Council (ICC), once considered unthinkable, it must look at alignments within the world structure.

The IPL is the jewel in India's crown and it must be ring-fenced.

Like with the great kingdoms of the past, where the king is all powerful and most protected, the IPL must exude power but must be at the centre of all negotiation.

Already there are moves to undermine it and with other leagues coming up around the world, the IPL cannot become just another tournament.

This is where the true power of India's cricket fans can be exerted. India has spent a lot of time in fighting for influence at the ICC but it cannot come at the expense of the IPL. Going ahead, the IPL has to become friendlier. The spectator viewing experience has to be better because the in-home viewing experience will be and while higher television and digital viewership is critical, there is no IPL atmosphere without a full house.

I believe the IPL needs to reach out to communities more and become more digitally savvy in reaching out to fans. Digital is where the future is, not just in terms of reach and income, but also in relationships.

So far, the IPL hasn't needed to, but the world changes very fast as many big brands have realised. The Fanpark initiative seems to be a step in the right direction.

And it is imperative that there is a strong connect between a player, his franchise and the fans. If players are constantly changing clubs, that relationship gets weaker and so constant player auctions aren't great. Certainly, you cannot put everyone back into the auction.

Virat Kohli has to be with Royal Challengers Bangalore, David Warner with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rohit Sharma with Mumbai Indians, Gautam Gambhir with Kolkata Knight Riders and whatever the pattern of allotting players to the returning franchises, MS Dhoni has to be with CSK.

These relationships are at the heart of franchise sport and creating club loyalty and rivalry is both essential and healthy. In fact, we have to find a method whereby the next one is the last big auction.

That is why I am in favour of retention and I would be happy to see as many as five players retained. It doesn't guarantee team strength as much anymore but it guarantees team loyalty and strengthens associations.

The draft last year seemed a fair way of distributing marquee players to Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant and might be the way to go when we welcome CSK and RR back. In course of time, I would also like to see teams being allowed to do long term contracts with players they scout.

There could be much more and there are more refined and valuable thoughts available than those expressed here. But all change must put cricket and governance first.

Luckily, the IPL brand is so powerful that you don't need to think about money. That is for the little leagues. To be free of the worry of sustenance is a privilege that very few have and the IPL must use that to become stronger.