On Wednesday, 11 people died because Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL after 18 years of wait. Political blame game has cast a spell on the tragedy, while heads continue to roll. Arrests have been made, including RCB’s marketing head Nikhil Sosale. On Saturday, two Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials, secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam, put in their papers “owing moral responsibility”.
Stampedes are like foot-worn ghosts that rear their ugly head from time to time — from the New Delhi railway station disaster to the Maha Kumbh Mela crowd crush and the Bengaluru IPL tragedy. Life goes on. Announcing a financial compensation of Rs 10 lakh — like the RCB did — “to each of the eleven families of the deceased” feels like valuing human lives at Rs 10 lakh per person. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is in this part of the world.
The Chinnaswamy IPL tragedy is not directly related to the BCCI and the IPL. As IPL chairman Arun Dhumal rightly said, as regards the cricket board, the tournament was over on Sunday at the conclusion of the prize distribution ceremony after the final. No way the BCCI is responsible for the incident, as it has no control over the private celebrations of a franchise. Also, rest assured, this is not going to put a dent on IPL, the brand.
Also Read: RCB victory parade stampede: Time to impose celebration guidelines
In terms of commerce, the IPL stayed immune to the 2013 spot-fixing case — the biggest scandal in the 18-year history of the tournament yet. As things unfolded, PepsiCo, the multinational beverage giant and then the IPL’s title sponsor, sent a notice to the BCCI, stressing that the whole issue had brought the game into “disrepute” and expressed its intention to withdraw. PepsiCo had paid the BCCI Rs 396 crore for title sponsorship of the IPL for the period 2013-2017. But the company pulled out midway.
Vivo, a Chinese mobile and technology company, came in — first to fill in for PepsiCo and then, as a full-time title sponsor for the period 2018-2022, forking out Rs 2,199 crore. The IPL’s current title sponsorship rights are with the Tata Group for a staggering Rs 2,500 crore. The contract runs until 2028.
The IPL is one of the biggest sporting brands in the world, on a par with the English Premier League and the NFL. The show will go on and the media rights value and the title sponsorship revenue will grow exponentially going ahead. But the Chinnaswamy tragedy is a wake-up call to the BCCI and it would be remiss of the game’s governing body not to impose celebration guidelines on the franchises from the next year onwards.
As for the incident, will the culprits be eventually brought to book? The matter is before the Karnataka High Court at moment and law will take its own course.