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  • Sachin, Sehwag to open for India again

    Sachin, Sehwag to open for India again

    MUMBAI: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, one of the most fearsome opening batsman of all time Virender Sehwag, the legendary West Indian Brian Lara, lethal Aussie speedster Bret Lee, one of Sri Lanka’s most stylish and dependable batsman of all time Tillakaratne Dilshan and the one and only, who took fielding in cricket to a different level, Jonty Rhodes, all come together once again to enthral us with their cricketing brilliance when they lock horns for the Road Safety World Series scheduled to be held in India early next year.

    The Road Safety World Series will be an annual T20 cricket tournament between legends of five cricket playing nations—Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and host India. Along with great rivalry and fierce competition, the cricketers will also spread the message of road safety during this League. The tournament will be played from 4th February to 16th February 2020, and will be hosted across premier venues in India.

    Little Master Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is the Brand Ambassador of the League. Viacom18’s Colors Cineplex is the broadcast partner while VOOT and Jio are the digital partners. The popular platform Tik Tok is coming on board as the Online Community Partner of the League.  

    The aim of the Road Safety World Series is to drive social change in the country and change people’s outlook towards road safety. As cricket is the most followed sport in the country and cricketers are looked upon as idols by many, this League will work as an ideal platform to influence and change people’s mind set towards their behaviour on the roads.

    Apart from the legendary cricketers, Melroy D’Souza, COO, Professional Management Group (PMG); Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18; Nitin Saluja, Director Public Policy Programs, TikTok India and Ravi Gaikwad, RTO Chief of Thane (Konkan Range) who is also a senior member of the Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra, were also present during the launch of this T20 extravaganza which has all the making of a big-ticket event in India’s sporting calendar. A portion of the profits gained during this league will go to Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat, a charitable trust whose main objective is to promote the cause of road safety in the country.

    Mr. Gaikwad, who was a H. Sc. state topper and scientist before joining RTO said, “One things that runs very deeply in every Indians DNA is cricket. The reach of this game and the following of its stars are phenomenal and that is what we want to do, spread the message across through this game which is so close to everyone in this country. The Road Safety World Series is not just a cricket tournament but a platform to achieve a much greater goal towards humanity as a whole. It is perhaps divine intervention that has brought all of us together to create the Road Safety World Series where we will see all those legends in action whom we had started to miss in the last few years. I am sure, we all, who are here together today to make this happen, will one day be very proud of what we have achieved for ourselves and for our future generations. I know people look at sports as a form of entertainment, but if sports is played only for entertainment purpose, the Olympic movement and its glorious narrative will not have any meaning. I welcome you all to experience this unique journey where we will not only be creating memories but spearheading a movement to save more lives on Indian roads.”

    Brand Ambassador of the League, Sachin Tendulkar said, “People in India loves cricket and we are blessed to be playing the sport. The love and affection showered by one and all towards cricket and cricketers is too fulfilling to express in words. I have been regularly talking about the importance of following traffic rules and driving safely, and the platform of Road Safety World Series feels like a full circle. I am really happy to be a part of this league which not only gives the stalwarts of the cricket world a chance to come back but also an opportunity for all of us to give something back to the society through this beautiful game.”

    Speaking about the Road Safety World Series, Melroy said, “We are very excited about using cricket as a platform to promote road safety. The tournament will give an opportunity for the fans to see their idols, back in action, a chance which I think all of them will cherish. It will give some of the greatest cricketers of all time, an opportunity to pit their wits and skills against each other, all over again.”

    Speaking about the partnership for Road Safety World Series, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and MD, Viacom18 said: “We have always believed that entertainment has the potential to bring about meaningful change and what better way of practising this philosophy than to bring cricketing legends in the popular T20 format to spread the message of road safety. An annual tourney spread over two weeks, I believe this league has the right balance of fandom, brevity and consumer connect to make this a viable long-term proposition – both in terms of sporting and business value. We are happy to partner with PMG and Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra Govt. to bring forth this cricketing tournament to viewers across the world.”

    Leading short view platform, TikTok has also extended its support to the campaign as Online Community Partners. As part of this partnership, the TikTok campaign #RoadSafetyChamps will launch go live on the platform in the lead up to the tournament in February 2019.

    “In line with our commitment towards the safety of our users, we are excited to partner with Road Safety World Series. As part of our ongoing safety initiatives, we’ve launched several consumer education programs in the past. Through this partnership we look forward to extending support by spreading the message of road safety through TikTok,” Nitin Saluja – Director Public Policy Programs, TikTok India.

    WHY ROAD SAFETY?

    Every year India kills a decent size European nation on its roads. In India, one person dies in every four minutes. Every hundred people dying in the world, 30 are Indians. It is more alarming that as per the World Research Institute, by 2020, the death toll in road accidents every year will reach up to 2.2 million and 50 per cent will be Indians. Every year around 1,50,000 people are killed and more than 4,50,000 people are critically injured in our country in road accidents. 

  • ‘Course correction will happen from a commercial, team management, and player angle’ : Hiren Pandit – GroupM ESP managing partner

    ‘Course correction will happen from a commercial, team management, and player angle’ : Hiren Pandit – GroupM ESP managing partner

    For franchisees the inaugural edition of the IPL has been a learning experience. The Hyderabad franchise is no different. While Deccan Chargers finished at the bottom of the table, the franchisee is confident that the investment will pay of in the long term. At the same time, the event was more difficult logistically and also physically than anybody imagined.

     

    GroupM ESP acts as a consultant for the Deccan Chronicle, which owns the Deccan chargers. Ashwin Pinto caught up with GroupM ESP managing partner Hiren Pandit to find out his views on the event

     

    Excerpts:

    How has the IPL experience been for Deccan Chargers?
    It has been a big learning curve. At the same time companies that did not get in will be furious at having missed out. The franchisees have all seen the potential of this event. We now know that this can be built up over the years. The IPL will be of the biggest benefit for those who want long-term gains.

    Overall what have the learnings been?
    There have been many. Sponsorship needs to be approached in a more effective manner. We were not able to do this earlier due to time constraints. Most of these deals have been for one year and so plans can be revised depending on what the team’s standing is. It is still early days. The way television has taken to it has been big. Next year, sponsorship rates will go through the roof.

     

    I believe that the IPL is looking for $ 7 to 8 million for ground co-sponsorship rights. Pepsi will go in for associate sponsorship as they want to block out Coca Cola. Each franchise and sponsor has had more than his fair share of learnings that will have to be put in place.

     

    A lot of course correction will happen. This will be from a commercial angle, team management angle, player angle.

     

    For the next three weeks people will lie low and detox from the IPL frenzy. Then they will start addressing issues. There will be a session with the IPL governing body to do a Swot analysis. Teams will look at their overall structure and check to see if all is right or if it needs to be re-looked at. Some problems may be common.

    What were the logistical challenges?
    The travel schedule was awful. I had no idea about the days. There was no concept of weekdays and weekends. It was just one haze of cricket matches and cities.

     

    Hats off to the players for performing. We played a match against Chandigarh. The next day we reached Hyderabad at 9:30 at night. The next day there was a match. Where is the time for player recovery? Players luggage also became an issue. It has to be at the airport. These logistics were more complex than had been first imagined.

     

    Then there is media pressure. Several people want to interview a certain set of players at any given point of time. This needs to be scheduled better.
    ‘The trading window will be key but the guidelines are not clear‘

    For Hyderabad what have the learnings been?
    There have been many. Right from stadium management, which we managed well. The ticketing part was an experience. We were not sure initially as to whether we would have 46,000 seats or 38,000. The stadium was under construction. We had to keep in mind media sessions.

    Not just us, but everybody will handle this differently next time. We sold out tickets for many matches but we have to still understand the pattern in which ticket sales happen. With sponsors there was confusion due to outfits not being ready on time. For the first week we struggled to get a comprehensive photo of the team. Clothes designs and delivery were a challenge. It took us 15 days to do this. If we had time this would have been planned better.

    Is it fair to say that the ones who did well did not have big stars?
    I don’t think so. The ones who did well played as team. They looked up to one individual. Rajasthan looked up to Shane Warne. The passion with which they played as a unit was terrific. Dhoni inspired Chennai. If a team came together it struck.

    Did attitude play a role?
    Yes! There were some players who acted as though the IPL was a holiday. So the franchise had a problem. Some players who were in a high profile position prior to the event were stripped clean. The trading window will be key but the guidelines are not clear. Franchisees can get rid of some players and acquire others. The support staff structure will also be looked at in terms of coaches, physios etc.

    Why did Hyderabad not fare better?
    We had a weak bowling attack. We went on past performance. Some players let us down here. This put additional pressure on the batsmen to add 20 more runs. A team like Rajasthan had the perfect batting and bowling balance. With Delhi we always felt that if the top three batsmen failed we were in with a chance. However they constantly fired until the semi final. Sehwag and Gambhir got out cheaply and they collapsed against Rajasthan.