CA sponsorship conflicts not bothering team

“There’s a lot at stake. We’re certainly not worried if Ponting or Hayden or even Warne is available this season or not. They’re stars no doubt but when we decided to bid for the franchise we were relying on a few names. We have plans and at the same time we even have contingency plans. We will first wait for the internal meeting with IPL and take it from there,” says a spokesperson for one of the franchise teams.

With the country’s leading corporate houses jumping on the IPL bandwagon, there is no dearth of marketing or financial brains in cricket now. And that’s the reason most of them are keeping their cards close to their chests. “To be very frank, even we’re not sure about what the details are. Another week, maybe, before we can actually start announcing anything,” say Emerging Media CEO Fraser Castellino.

“We are certainly working on it. This is cricket but not just cricket. There are a lot of other aspects to it. In the end, it’ll all be about innovation, coming up with ideas that will set the IPL going, not just players,” says an RIL official.

For now, as much as team owners want the best players representing them, the idea is to ensure that — at least in the first season — things remain cost-effective. “If I have to hire Shane Warne at US$400,000 and pay 15 per cent more of that money to my icon player, then why have the costliest of the lot? Is he assuring me that my team will reach the final?” questions a spokesman for a franchise team.

Even the ‘conflict of interest’ debate doesn’t bother the team owners. “CA has to sort it out with its players. With players from so many countries where the respective boards have their team and individual sponsorships, and here in India with so many investors involved, this (the conflict of interest thing) is bound to happen. At best, I can say we’ll be preparing ourselves to deal with it. For now though, the boards have to sort it out with their players,” says an official from a franchise team.

With Modi washing his hands off in case of Australia, suggesting that CA better solve it, the message is loud and clear. An NOC for a player from the board will mean that player will have to sort all his financial dealings before he eventually lands in India. The auction coming up happens to be the first such instance in Indian sport, of bidding for man-power. In no way, these business heads believe, will it matter if a certain player cannot make it due to contractual obligations. “We’re building a brand along with the team. One or two players either joining or missing out will not matter as much as getting our fair share from the investment made. We’re here to do business and if it has to be without a Ponting, we’ll work that out,” says the official.