The idea of an offshore cricket league on the lines of IPL has been in the air for long. As a concept, limited-overs internationals in the USA have been there for even longer. Sharjah was a particularly successful offshore centre for cricket until it ran into gambling and fixing issues. Cricket has a fan base beyond the subcontinent, particularly in heavy expat areas like the Gulf and the east and west coasts of the USA. It is, however, likely that Singapore might beat others in emerging as the next big offshore cricket centre if background moves that are being made fructify.
The target audience would have to be in the population-heavy areas of south Asia because TV revenues are based on eyeball figures, according to television executives who virtually determine where the game will succeed. The time difference to Asia is also a factor as the offshore cricket has to come into Asian prime time for the latest fad, T20 cricket, to click and justify the TV rights fees that run into millions of dollars. In that sense, Singapore is a frontrunner.
Thanks to the second technology revolution and the geek power of Indian and Asian engineers, the west coast of USA becomes a fertile place for an IPL offshoot with a readymade fan base. The difficulties are — 1. An already crowded calendar, 2. An overworked and small band of quality international cricketers and 3.
The sparseness of local TV eyeball figures, which means the game is still only a nano-attraction in USA. Will the distant ancestor of baseball be successful in the land of opportunity and free enterprise? Only time will tell. The fact remains that cricket is still the leader as an Indian sporting idea if IPL aims to cross the seas after having already done so in South Africa (2009) and the United Arab Emirates (2014).
The pioneers who took cricket to the USA were banned by BCCI. But there has been a sea change since 1989. Cricket is now a business and is set to take off as the forerunner taking Indian sport to the world. Exhibition games hardly mean a thing these days and only a true marketing effort can help, say experienced sports marketing experts.
A mini IPL is the best avenue and this is probably what the ICC and BCCI are thinking as they sent an emissary to Singapore recently. T20 is the cricket of the future and an ideal format to take out of the country is an opinion often heard in conversation among the men in suits of cricket admin. While sporting leagues in football, badminton, kabaddi and tennis are changing the canvas of sport in India, cricket is poised to take that further to make it a larger tapestry of Indian sport.
