Note: Vikash Kumar is the Head Of Operations, Logistics & HR at GMR Sports, owner of theDelhi Capitals, Dubai Capitals and several other teams in multiple sports. This is a guest post in cricexec written in his personal capacity .
Here’s a sporting anecdote in bullets:
- India has only three true star categories — Politics, Bollywood, and Cricket. The IPL is the only platform where all three coexist seamlessly, without differences or arguments.
- Only two things in life are certain — Death and the IPL. No season has ever been cancelled, though a couple have been postponed within the same year.
- It is the only tournament that consistently turns exceptions into the “new normal” with every passing season.
- Several elements in the IPL grow in direct proportion to India’s population: player costs, match ticket prices, tournament revenue, sponsorship value, viewership numbers, ticket demand, requests for free tickets, the shower of sixes and fours, demand for accreditation cards, and the scale of security measures, personnel, equipment, and technology.
- Operations teams across all franchises constantly boast of reducing individual cost items, yet the overall tournament operations cost continues to rise every year.
- Every franchise has significantly improved its service quality standards, but none can yet claim a formal quality certification such as Six Sigma.
- No matter how much you improve year on year, all teams still depend on the quintessential Indian “jugaad” to get many tasks completed during team and stadium operations.
- Not everyone associated with the IPL or a franchise handles match ticketing. Calling them for tickets is of no avail.
- Requests to meet players on match day are met with a firm “No” due to strict anti-corruption rules and guidelines.
- Every vendor associated with stadium operations for five seasons or more has already pursued both forward and backward business integration, fiercely competing to expand their contracts beyond their core areas of competency.
- Unfortunately, innovation in operations remains a niche skill in the IPL ecosystem even after 18 seasons.
- Central rights constitute the major chunk of league and team valuations, while individual team sponsorship revenue is often just enough to make ends meet.
- The owners’ lounge has evolved far beyond a place to sit and watch the match. It has become a powerful platform to display brand strength, luxury, business prowess, progressive ownership thinking, networking opportunities, lavish hospitality, and future business deal-making.
- Regional language commentary has proved to be an innovative and successful move, with viewership steadily shifting from traditional Hindi and English channels to these regional broadcasts.
- Multi-camera angles and AI-driven broadcast techniques have been a welcome learning curve for older generations involved in or watching sports. However, these advancements are yet to be implemented effectively in other Indian leagues and sports.
- The valuation gap between franchises is narrowing every year, even as the overall valuation of the league and teams continues to increase manifold.
- It is the only league in India that was successfully staged 6,000 miles away with seamless execution — when the tournament was still in its infancy (2009 in South Africa).
- It is the only league that has witnessed the complete transformation of the information age from TV and newspaper media to social media.
- It remains the only league with the highest number of owners still associated with their franchises since its inception in 2008.
- It is the only league that has recorded the highest valuation growth in the shortest time, despite facing major challenges such as war, COVID-19, global market crashes, economic slowdowns, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and Russia.
- It is the only league in India that faces the highest level of statutory agency interference and is required to comply with the largest set of rules, standards, safety protocols, evacuation plans, and security equipment — owing to its massive global traction and physical presence inside venue against capacity.
- Last but not the least — it is the only league that has been consistently boasting “Housefull” scenarios across all venues for the last 3–5 seasons at least.
The list can be endless. Feel free to add your own observations in the comments!
