Economics of cricket

With a total net worth of $2.25 billion, the governing body of cricket in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is arguably one of the strongest and richest governing bodies in world cricket. The total net worth of ICC is $2.5 billion. In fact, BCCI is one of the richest governing bodies of any sport in the world. Cricket in the market is worth $9 billion in India. It goes without saying that cricket is more than just a sport in India. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Cricket in India has always been celebrated as not just a sport but a full-fledged festival with a lot of gusto and enthusiasm. The game has been around for centuries, since the 1500s. Today, with 104 nations as official members of the International Cricket Council, it is one of the world’s most popular sports. But cricket is most profitable in India. Cricket has become synonymous to Indian culture. Besides, cricket contributes to India’s economy directly as well as indirectly by creating new jobs, boosting tourism and other tertiary industries. For instance, the IPL alone has been making a massive contribution to the GDP of India. Huge scale branding and tremendous fan following worldwide have led to a constant rise in its contribution to India’s GDP. As per a survey report, the IPL tournament alone yielded Rs. 11.5 billion to India’s GDP in a single season. Let’s say, that is the macroeconomics of cricket in India.

Now, Nagaland is playing at the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic senior cricket. It is mind boggling how much money is involved in this game of cricket. Every playing 11 cricketer in the Ranji Trophy is paid Rs.40000 to Rs. 60000 per day! Even the reserve players get Rs.30000 for a day. Considering that Ranji Trophy matches are played on the 4-day test format in the league stages, a player is paid Rs.240000 per match. Nagaland team will be playing at least 7 league matches, which means a player has the scope of being paid Rs.240000×7=1680000 rupees this season! Of course, the figures are subject to several considerations but the moot point here is that there is big money in Indian cricket. Apart from the senior Ranji Trophy, there are other BCCI sanctioned tournaments like Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where the players are also paid on a per-day basis by the BCCI. Even women cricketers are also handsomely paid by the BCCI. In fact, the BCCI has introduced pay parity whereby both men and women are paid equal match fees at least in the international level. The incentive grows to astronomical proportions if a player makes it to the A+ grade. And that is not inclusive of the endorsements they receive from sponsorships. The biggest perk is that you get paid for playing the game you love to play.

Currently, there are a handful of state players from Mokokchung who play for Nagaland, including two ladies. The bulk of the Nagaland team is made up of players from Dimapur. It is about time Mokokchung takes cricket more seriously. Apart from the players, the game also offers unlimited opportunities off field, like coaches, managers, physio, umpires, scorekeepers, groundsmen and so on. After football, cricket is the most popular game in the world. It will only keep growing, offering more and more opportunities in the process. But we will have to make some genuine effort to grasp the opportunities it brings.