Tag: CPL

Fan2Play announces two-time CPL champions Barbados Royals as associate sponsor for 2022 season

Mumbai: Fantasy sports platforms Fan2Play has announced its partnership with the men’s team of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Barbados Royals for the current season of the tournament. It got underway on 31 August in St. Kitts.

Fan2Play’s logo will appear on the non-leading arm of the Barbados Royals’ men’s official jerseys and training kits for the duration of the tournament as the team’s associate sponsor for this year’s edition.

Fan2Play said that it has rapidly established itself as a key partner to teams in multiple marquee cricketing tournaments across the globe. This includes CPL 2021 champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and the World Giants in the inaugural edition of Legends League Cricket (LLC) at the start of 2022.

As two-time champions of the CPL—lifting the cup in the 2013 and 2019 editions—the Barbados Royals are perfectly poised to continue this winning streak. This year’s men’s team will be led by veteran South African all-rounder David Miller and showcase a strong line-up of international and local talent, including Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, and Obed McCoy. Through its association with a team of this stature, Fan2Play further strengthens its reputation for partnering with the biggest names in cricket.

“We are glad to be associated with Barbados Royals in this season’s CPL T20 League as we firmly believe they have the most balanced team and are one of the favourites to lift the trophy. In the past, Fan2Play has been associated with four different franchises, and they have all gone on to win in those respective seasons. We truly hope we can be Barbados Royals’ lucky charm as well,” said Fan2Play co-founder and GM operations Kumar Shashi.

“Participation of such grandeur is about showing Fan2Play’s presence among the elite of T20 cricket and connecting with our users and followers through such activation. We will be hosting some incredible moments with the Barbados Royals franchise this season, so join Fan2Play and be part of this exciting journey,” he added.

Now in its 10th season, the CPL is popularly referred to as the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’. Having started off on 31 August, the final of this year’s tournament will be played a month later on 30 September.

Rajasthan Royals, Barbados Royals GM-partnerships Uditvanu Das commented, “At the Barbados Royals, we are always very keen to explore avenues which can provide our fans with an all-round entertaining experience, not just on the field, but off it as well. Hence, we are delighted to welcome Fan2Play, a platform that engages fans and also rewards them for their participation, as a partner of the franchise.”

Fan2Play is a fantasy platform where you can create your own fantasy teams with just 2/3/4 players. Fan2Play’s new user offer of claiming a 200 per cent bonus up to Rs 20,000 is incredible as it gives you unlimited bonus usage on multiple contests. Other features include Real Cash deposit codes, Challenge Fantasy, 2nd Innings Fantasy, and Casual Games.

September 9, 2022
ICC FTP draft creates two and a half month window for the IPL

Mumbai: In a move that signifies the importance of Twenty20 league cricket, the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) near-final draught Future Tours Programme (FTP) has created a two-and-a-half-month window for the Indian Premier League (IPL) every year. There are also home-season windows for the Hundred and the Big Bash League (BBL) in England and Australia’s schedules.

A report in ESPNcricinfo said that the near-final draft of the ICC’s latest FTP for men’s cricket lays out the international cricket due to be played by the 12 full members between May 2023 and April 2027. It is built primarily on two cycles of the World Test Championship (WTC), a host of ICC events, and plenty of bilateral white-ball cricket.

Over the next four years, there are very few international cricket matches scheduled from the latter week of March to the first week of June. The IPL is played during that time.

The Twenty20 Leagues also have a timeframe for England and Australia. However, the report said that, in contrast to the IPL, the Hundred and windows don’t bring international cricket to a halt. England and Australia, who have previously played both tournaments along with international games, must make room in their schedules for them.

For instance, a three-week window between July and August is free of any international cricket in every English summer in this draft FTP. The ECB has advocated for more time for England’s marquee white-ball players during scheduling discussions for this FTP, so it stands to reason that they will have more time in their marquee white-ball competition. Due to international commitments, some of England’s top players, including Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Joe Root, only participated in two games during the Hundred’s inaugural season.

Other members have also made space for their T20 leagues, said the report. For example, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL)’s August-September window is all but set, though there’s only ever been a handful of international cricket played in the Caribbean in those months. Bangladesh has kept January free for the BPL in each of the last four years of FTP, said the report.

Meanwhile, another report by ESPNcricinfo.com said that as per the near-final draft FTP, India is scheduled to play 38 tests, four fewer than England (42) and three fewer than Australia (41). Only two other countries have more than 30 tests on their calendar: Bangladesh (34) and New Zealand (32). The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is a test match series between India and Australia, has five tests. This is the first time since 1992 that this has happened. India will travel to Australia for five tests in December and January 2024-25, and the return series will take place in India in early 2027. Both series are part of the next two World Test Championship cycles in 2023–25 and 2025–27, respectively.

India is also scheduled to play two five-test series against England—at home in early 2024 and away in 2025. The home series will be part of the 2023–25 World Test Championship cycle, while the five tests in England are part of the 2025–27 WTC cycle.

Apart from the series against Australia and England, India has played more than two tests in a bilateral contest only once: a three-test series at home against New Zealand in October-November 2024. The rest of India’s WTC series is limited to two tests. The report said England and Australia, on the other hand, are scheduled to play several three-test series over the next four years.

The final draft is expected to be presented at the ICC’s Annual General Meeting on 25 and 26 July 2022, in Birmingham.

July 18, 2022
Knight Riders Group acquires Abu Dhabi franchise in UAE T20 League

Mumbai: UAE’s T20 League has announced that Knight Riders Group has acquired the rights to own and operate the Abu Dhabi franchise and will set up Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) as a part of the UAE’s flagship T20 league.

After establishing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2008 in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Knight Riders became owners of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2015. Recently, the Knight Riders Group made an investment in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US and intends to set up a franchise in the greater Los Angeles area.

This investment by the Knight Riders Group, which is led by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, along with Juhi Chawla & her husband Jay Mehta, will establish their fourth T20 franchise around the world in IPL, CPL, MLC and now in UAE’s T20 league.

Khan said, “For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the UAE. We are excited about becoming part of UAE’s T20 League, which no doubt will become hugely successful.”

“The commitment to grow the T20 format and the expertise gathered by the Knight Riders Group, through their involvement in franchise cricket across the world, is undisputed,” commented UAE’s T20 League chairman Khalid Al Zarooni. “We are exceptionally pleased with their foresight to join forces with the UAE’s T20 League and firmly believe it will elevate the reputation, and professionalism of the League throughout the cricket community.”

“We are pleased with the association of the Knight Riders Group with the League as a franchise team owner, we are very confident that this association will be mutually beneficial for both Knight Riders brand and the League,” said Emirates Cricket Board general secretary Mubashshir Usmani. “UAE’s T20 League will attract some of the biggest names in world cricket while also giving a platform and international exposure to local and upcoming players.”

“We feel fortunate to have been consistently recognised as a global brand in T20 cricket,” stated KKR, Red Chillies Entertainment CEO Venky Mysore. “As T20 cricket expands around the world, we are flattered by the regular invitations to play a major role in growing the sport across the world. We have had a keen interest in the developments in the UAE and our expansion is consistent with our long-term strategy.”

May 13, 2022
Exclusive: IPL franchise Punjab Kings revenues to grow by 20-25 per cent this season

Mumbai: This season, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings revenue will grow by 20-25 per cent. This will be a mix of central revenue and local revenue. Speaking to IndianTelevision.com Punjab Kings co-owner Mohit Burman says that revenues are up by 25 per cent and quite a bit of this jump is from local sponsorship revenue on the jersey and centrally one or two sponsors have been added.

“Licensing and merchandising and ticketing will not impact the P&L. The BCCI running ticketing centrally. Licensing and merchandising has never given money because you do not have the regulation to curtail spurious jerseys that are made in your name and sold outside stadiums. You will never end up making big money from this area. It will only be a small amount of money,” he tells.

Only two sponsorship deals open up on the jersey next year. So the franchise will have to wait two years to do new sponsorship deals. Non-jersey sponsorship deals can be done in the digital space but the value is much less. While the franchise has reached just one IPL final back in 2014, he maintains that it has not made a difference in terms of sponsorship revenue of more than 15 per cent.

Sponsors look for brand visibility at the end of the day and also doing activation with the franchise’s players. “It is all measured back to what the viewership is, the number of games and so and so forth,” Burman says, adding that, “The two new franchises that came in Lucknow and Gujarat benefitted when they did sponsorship deals because there was not enough inventory in the market. The other franchises he explains were riding out Covid and so earlier did long-term deals. It is a question of demand and supply. The two new teams commanded a premium rate maybe of 50 per cent. This has nothing to do about whether a team has won or not.”

He further says that this year the franchises sponsors have focused more on digital activation. There have not been many commercial shots by Punjab King’s sponsors. “They are doing digital activities which both the players and consumers love.”

He also notes the growing trend of sponsors like Jio, Amul, Boat doing deals across franchises. The advantage he says is that the brand gets constant exposure regardless of who is playing.

He says that earlier in a normal situation the franchise did not make as much from ticketing compared to other franchises like Mumbai. That is because Punjab is a very price-sensitive market and it was hard to sell more than 20,000 tickets for a match through the stadium capacity might have been 25-28,000.

Most of the franchise’s revenue comes from the central pool and Burman hesitates when asked to what extent central revenue’s contribution could rise with the media rights auction next month. But he does say that the BCCI splitting the media rights into broadcast and digital was needed to fully exploit the potential rights value.

When asked about the fall in TV viewership he says that a lot of it has gone to digital through mobiles but this is not being measured properly because there is no single currency yet to measure digital. “Digital is not officially measured. So you do not get the real numbers. There is no body controlling digital measurement. The fact though remains that there is a huge shift where people are viewing IPL matches on the mobile. People sometimes mirror the IPL on their TV. The digital value and cost of streaming the IPL will both go up,” he shares.

In terms of future sources of revenue, he points out digital streams like NFTs, metaverse. “It is early days in terms of NFTs. Crypto has to get regulated but it is big money. We also have a $3 million offer sitting on the table regarding the digital rights of our players. From this content can be created. The BCCI has to approve of it,” he tells.

In the pure cricketing space academies is something being pursued big time. In terms of academies, he says that it will be in catchments areas which is Punjab, Kashmir, Haryana. A central Academy will be set up in Punjab, to begin with. The concept is to then set up Academies in other parts of the country. “We have a huge catchment area in North America and the UK which we will possibly explore. We will do scouting and find potential boys who can be funneled into the system. We will use the help of the local federation.”

When asked about the franchise changing its name to Punjab Kings he said that the aim was to use the name Punjab first which is what other franchises do apart from Bangalore. “People must immediately attach the franchise to the market. We wanted to attribute ourselves to the State we come from.” He adds that operating in a Covid environment has been difficult but it was a bigger challenge for the BCCI. “The fact is that we have pulled off all three seasons quite well. The challenge for us was staying in the bubble and keeping everyone on their toes and happy.”

He also explains that costs did not go up due to Covid. That is because matches were played only in one or two venues. So air travel and hotel costs were saved. “This season we are playing in Mumbai. Otherwise we would have been travelling to different cities and spending money on transport and logistics. Things have evened out.” Beyond the IPL Burman owns the St. Lucia franchise in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in West Indies. He is happy about how the ownership has turned out and says that the franchise was profitable from the first year.

“We got the franchise at the right price and we did central deals even before we picked up the franchise. We will probably make money on the jersey also. The local government supports our team and we also have a big sponsor. Our revenue split between central and local revenue is almost equitable.” He is also interested in the upcoming league from Cricket South Africa (CSA) but notes that it is in its formative stage.. Right now the Big Bash League in Australia does not allow for outsiders to own a franchise. “Otherwise we would definitely explore it due to viewership and there is a lot of interest in India on the Big Bash League.”

He adds that he is not interested in non-cricket leagues. Years ago Burman had exited the now-defunct Hockey India League because the math was not adding up. “We have to be sure that we will get a return on investment. We do not get into any league if we know that there is no money to make. Ideally, we would like to make money in the first year itself which is what we did in the CPL. We look at leagues where the cricket board is involved as there will be accountability,” he concludes.

May 10, 2022
B4U to be official South Asian media partner for CPL St. Lucia Stars

MUMBAI: B4U Network is excited to announce a tie-up with St Lucia Stars cricket team for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League, which will be played from 4 August to 9 September 2017.

The St Lucia Stars (formally known as the St Lucia Zouks) are a franchise cricket team representing the beautiful country of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean Premier League. The franchise is owned proudly by Chairman Jay Pandya. The team is currently captained by the skipper himself Daren Sammy and coached by veteran Stuart Williams, a former West Indies cricketer.

B4U is the primary South Asian media partner for this star-studded team that includes Shane Watson, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuel, Kamran Akmal and a host of others.

As the official media partners for the team, watch out for the logo of B4U on their arm on the playing field as the team partake in one of the world’s biggest T20 tournaments.

The Caribbean Premier League is a T20 tournament that showcases the beauty and talent of the Caribbean to the world. The best cricketers that the West Indies play alongside their international counterparts, in the unique carnival atmosphere for which the Caribbean is world-renowned. The CPL draws the attention of millions of cricket fans across the globe.

The 2016 CPL season was the St Lucia Stars most successful yet, with the Daren Sammy side reaching the CPL finals for the first time.

B4U head of international business, Ashok Shenoy states, “B4U is thrilled to have teamed up with St Lucia Stars cricket team for the 2017 CPL. In light of the release of major cricket focused Bollywood films such as ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ and ‘M.S Dhoni’, there is a strong synergy between Bollywood and Cricket. As one of the world’s leading South Asian entertainment channels our partnership with the St Lucia Stars Cricket team will exemplify this synergy, our strong brand identity in the Global sports market as well as our long standing digital presence in the Caribbean market. We wish the St Lucia Stars all the best during the CPL 2017!”

Jay Pandya St Lucia stars team owner states: “B4U has been a pioneer in taking Bollywood to a global audience. It is an honour to be associated with B4U, as I have enjoyed watching B4U Movies and B4U Music over the years. Cricket and Bollywood connect South Asians across the globe and while this association will further strengthen those bonds, I see B4U playing a pivotal role in promoting the CPL and in particular St Lucia Stars across the world through it’s various satellite beams.”

St Lucia Stars kick off the CPL season 4 August off facing rival Trinidad and Tobago Knightriders in match that is surely not to be missed.

CPL will be shown on BT Sport in UK, Sony Six In India and Willow TV in the U.S and across various other platforms on channels around the globe.

August 7, 2017
CPL ties with Facebook Live for 2016 matches international broadcast

MUMBAI: The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has announced live broadcast on Facebook of all thirty four CPL 2016 matches around the world, via Facebook’s official live streaming partner Grabyo. CPL will become the first sports league to supplement its existing broadcast deals and use the Facebook Live platform to ensure that 40 countries around the world, including the likes of Pakistan, South Africa and The Philippines can now view the sport live. It will also be the first time ever an international cricket match will be broadcast on Facebook Live.

A host of international stars will be competing from across the cricketing world at this year’s CPL including the likes of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Shakib Al Hasan, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Shoaib Malik, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson.

In addition, the six CPL sides – Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Zouks and Trinbago Knight Riders will include a number of ICC World T20 champions including the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell who took the world by storm in India earlier this year.

Cricket fans from Argentina to Hungary will now be able to watch the T20 stars in action starting with Trinbago Knight Riders clash with St. Lucia Zouks from the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Wednesday, 29 June (9pm Caribbean / 2am GMT / 6.30am India) and running through to the final in St. Kitts & Nevis on 7 August.

Commenting on using Facebook Live, CPL chief operations officer Pete Russell said: “We are delighted to announce how we’re using Facebook Live, which we believe has the potential to change the face of cricket broadcasting and enhance the CPL’s ever-increasing international audience.”

“In 2015 the CPL’s global viewership exceeded 93 million and we now have the platform to boost our viewership even further for the forthcoming tournament. Caroline Smith, CPL’s Head of Digital, and her team have done a fantastic job with our social media activity and this deal proves that they have put us ahead of the curve in understanding how best to reach our global fans with live games” added Russel.

Facebook India Sports Partnerships Asha Thacker said “Facebook Live allows fans to connect to cricket and their favourite stars and we are delighted to be working with the Hero Caribbean Premier League and Grabyo for this cricketing first and to help bring fans around the world closer to the game. As the world’s largest sports stadium, more cricket fans engage with content on Facebook than anywhere else and it is unique experiences such as this that allow fans to engage in a more meaningful way.”

Grabyo CEO Gareth Capon said, “On the pitch, T20 cricket is helping to globalize and expand the sport of cricket, bringing a new generation of fans into the game. The use of social video, particularly live streaming, presents an opportunity to reach an unparalleled audience far beyond the traditional broadcast ecosystem.

“Facebook offers an user base of 1.6 billion and to be able to bring live action from the best cricketing talent direct to mobile devices around the world, right as the action happens, is incredibly exciting. We look forward to working with the CPL throughout the tournament and helping them use social video to engage new audiences across the globe.” Added Capon.

CPL will be live broadcasted in Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, PNG (Papua New Guinea), Romania, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Vanuatu

June 30, 2016
CPL ties with Facebook Live for 2016 matches international broadcast

MUMBAI: The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has announced live broadcast on Facebook of all thirty four CPL 2016 matches around the world, via Facebook’s official live streaming partner Grabyo. CPL will become the first sports league to supplement its existing broadcast deals and use the Facebook Live platform to ensure that 40 countries around the world, including the likes of Pakistan, South Africa and The Philippines can now view the sport live. It will also be the first time ever an international cricket match will be broadcast on Facebook Live.

A host of international stars will be competing from across the cricketing world at this year’s CPL including the likes of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Shakib Al Hasan, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Shoaib Malik, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson.

In addition, the six CPL sides – Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Zouks and Trinbago Knight Riders will include a number of ICC World T20 champions including the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell who took the world by storm in India earlier this year.

Cricket fans from Argentina to Hungary will now be able to watch the T20 stars in action starting with Trinbago Knight Riders clash with St. Lucia Zouks from the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Wednesday, 29 June (9pm Caribbean / 2am GMT / 6.30am India) and running through to the final in St. Kitts & Nevis on 7 August.

Commenting on using Facebook Live, CPL chief operations officer Pete Russell said: “We are delighted to announce how we’re using Facebook Live, which we believe has the potential to change the face of cricket broadcasting and enhance the CPL’s ever-increasing international audience.”

“In 2015 the CPL’s global viewership exceeded 93 million and we now have the platform to boost our viewership even further for the forthcoming tournament. Caroline Smith, CPL’s Head of Digital, and her team have done a fantastic job with our social media activity and this deal proves that they have put us ahead of the curve in understanding how best to reach our global fans with live games” added Russel.

Facebook India Sports Partnerships Asha Thacker said “Facebook Live allows fans to connect to cricket and their favourite stars and we are delighted to be working with the Hero Caribbean Premier League and Grabyo for this cricketing first and to help bring fans around the world closer to the game. As the world’s largest sports stadium, more cricket fans engage with content on Facebook than anywhere else and it is unique experiences such as this that allow fans to engage in a more meaningful way.”

Grabyo CEO Gareth Capon said, “On the pitch, T20 cricket is helping to globalize and expand the sport of cricket, bringing a new generation of fans into the game. The use of social video, particularly live streaming, presents an opportunity to reach an unparalleled audience far beyond the traditional broadcast ecosystem.

“Facebook offers an user base of 1.6 billion and to be able to bring live action from the best cricketing talent direct to mobile devices around the world, right as the action happens, is incredibly exciting. We look forward to working with the CPL throughout the tournament and helping them use social video to engage new audiences across the globe.” Added Capon.

CPL will be live broadcasted in Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, PNG (Papua New Guinea), Romania, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Vanuatu

June 30, 2016
CPL takes a leap with SRK as franchise owner; Hero as title sponsor

MUMBAI: With two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp as title sponsor and actor Shah Rukh Khan as the owner of Trinidad and Tobago franchise, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is emerging as a substantial entity in the franchisee cricket fraternity.

Both developments are of huge magnitude for the mushrooming league as Khan’s involvement will drive his fans to the sports too, which will result in increased viewership.

The broadcasting right of CPL is with Multi Screen Media’s sports and entertainment channel Sony Six, which also telecasts Indian Premier League (IPL). A viewership boost will only help the channel generate more revenue.

Not long back after Hero invested heavily on Indian Super League (ISL) and bagged the title sponsors tag speculations were drawn that the automobile company will permanently move away from cricket and endorse other emerging leagues. However, the one-year deal with CPL quashes all speculations. As part of the deal, CPL will now be called as Hero Caribbean Premier League, which is synonymous with other sports properties like Hero Indian Super league and Hero Hockey India League.

Hero has been associated with cricket for over two decades in various capacities. In 2007, Hero was the Global Partner of the ICC World Cup, held in West Indies.

Speaking to Times of India after signing the deal with CPL franchise Trinidad and Tobago, Khan said, “This is in line with our vision to expand globally. We are thrilled to become part of the cricketing tradition of Trinidad & Tobago. The passion for franchise cricket in the Caribbean is evident with the success of CPL and we hope to bring all the best practices of KKR to the T&T franchise.”

Speaking about the deal, Hero MotoCorp CEO and managing director Pawan Munjal said, “Hero MotoCorp has been associated with sports, and particularly cricket, for well over two decades. The game of cricket has for long remained the most popular sport in India, and also in the Caribbean. As Hero rapidly expands its global footprint, we have been forging strong associations with sporting icons and events as part of our global brand building initiatives. Caribbean cricket and cricketers have always been highly popular in India and in many other parts of the world, and our title sponsorship of the CPL is a logical extension of our long-term association with the game. We look forward to a highly exciting month of cricket in the Caribbean.”

Hero Caribbean Premier League chairman Richard Bevan added, “It is our pleasure to have the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, as title sponsor of CPL. Hero has been one of the leading sponsors of cricket throughout the game’s history, and it is a testament to CPL’s growing success that the event will now be known as the Hero CPL. We look forward to Hero’s support and to making season 3 of the CPL the biggest yet.

CPL started two years back and has been growing in terms of both players’ participation and global viewership. Renowned international cricketers like Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi will join the Caribbean’s finest cricketers namely Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo. The tournament will also witness participation of talented local players from the Caribbean region.

CPL 2014 attracted a massive global audience in excess of 65 million. This number is expected to break all previous records to post record participation of spectators from around the world.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com a senior cricket expert asserts, “Caribbean cricketers have always been the best entertainers of cricket. If we see in recent times in the IPL, it has been Gayle. Pollard and Bravo have always been crowd pullers. Indian cricketers not participating will hamper viewership in India but if quality cricket is exhibited, then people will tune in provided there is no India match happening simultaneously.”

He further added, “Shah Rukh Khan owning a franchise is a big boost for the league, as he will make efforts to promote the franchise. KKR was the first franchise to start generating profit from IPL so with his business mind, he will make sure he gets good returns.”

A veteran media planning expert feels that though there are big names associated with the league, it is highly unlikely that the brand interaction will go anywhere close to IPL or any other India involved cricket match. “The game is clear, you have India playing cricket… it’s a festival. You have matches played in India, it is a celebration but cricket without Indian players will find it tough to garner viewership. Hero and Shah Rukh joining the league is good news for the league as well as for the broadcaster. However, at the end of the day, it’s the quality of cricket and cricketers that will get brands and viewers.”

June 10, 2015