I've been advocating action from the IPL Governing Council for some time to ensure the future prosperity of brand IPL. They must act for the benefit of the supporters, owners, sponsors and all commercial partners but progress — if any — appears to be dangerously slow.
The problem goes way beyond what's happening with the Deccan Chargers. There is a much wider issue at stake.
Just because a product has been successful in the past, you simply cannot afford to rest on your laurels and expect the success to continue. The IPL needs freshening up with innovation and general attention to make sure the challenges and opportunities are met. I don't see too much of that.
With Deccan, I think people need to look at cause and effect. The IPL has already lost Kochi and is now in a state of flux with Deccan. The Kochi franchise was terminated last year because the BCCI insisted the capitalisation requirement during the original bidding process be lowered.
That raised the prospect of default because companies with lower levels were able to bid. It was an accident waiting to happen. DLF's decision to not renew is obviously another body blow. Now the Governing Council has to act in all of these areas to ready the IPL for next year. At the moment, it's lurching from one issue to another seemingly without the energy to solve or even react to the problems.
Further, their continued litigation with Kings XI (Punjab) and Rajasthan Royals shows though they are wrong, but for one person's ego they continue their battles. I won't be surprised to see Sahara also cutting back their cricketing investments. There is a strong rumour around that.
If all these battles continue – what then? Well, we have an enormous problem. It will affect future sponsorship deals which are all due. And the feel-good factor overall. I am sorry to see it going the way it is. Hope BCCI wakes up. The writer was the IPL chairman from its inception to April 2010.
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