The world’s richest cricket body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), might be in big trouble if the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) is cancelled. How big? A massive ₹ 3,800 crores.
IPL 13 was postponed until April 14 as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, considering the lockdown might be extended, there would be serious question marks over the future of the league.
The BCCI office-bearers would be trying hard to push the tournament sometime later this year. But to chalk out a window for even a curtailed IPL would be no less than a herculean task considering 2020’s packed cricketing calendar.
If at all cancellation occurs due to unforeseen reasons, it will be a massive financial blow for the BCCI and all the IPL stakeholders. Not only that, but no IPL in 2020 will also mean a sizable dent in the Indian economy.
Star India would be amongst the biggest losers. The country’s leading broadcaster had shelled out a whopping ₹ 16,347.50 crores (the biggest television deal in the history of cricket) for the worldwide media rights for a 5-year period between 2018 and 2022.
A cancellation would translate into a direct loss of ₹ 3269.50 crores for Star. This at the back of a loss of ₹1216 crore loss it suffered in the previous financial year would be a massive blow.
The title sponsorship rights for IPL had also sold for a huge figure of ₹ 2,000 crores to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo. A cancelled 2020 IPL means a loss of ₹ 400 crores for BCCI.
Add to that a loss of ₹ 200 crores from central sponsorship, and the combined figure reaches ₹ 3,869.50 crores.
While it is slightly early to comment on whether a cancellation will occur, it does give BCCI some important lessons. The biggest amongst them is to have an insurance policy in place to counter unforeseen situations like the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was being reported that Wimbledon, which got cancelled recently, had received $ 141 million in insurance money. Although it won’t entirely cover the $ 250 million in losses due to a scrapped season, it does soften the blow.
