by SHUVAIT KOUL
Sleepless nights for Delhi Daredevils till they take guard for their next encounter. It was a rather forgetful day for the hosts as they started their crusade in IPL4 on a dismal note.
Though the DareDevils may earn themselves some points by justifying it as a bad day in the office but their outing against the Mumbai Indians has exposed many chinks in their armor.
They might already be feeling the heat because of the lack of icon players in their side. With the likes of Dilshan, Gambhir, Vettori and De Villiers drafted to other franchisees, all that Delhi is left is an explosive opening pair of skipper Sehwag and David Warner but a brittle middle order. This became evident with Malinga ripping apart their defenses and eventually bundling them out for a paltry total 95.
But DD can draw some solace from the fact that they have a reasonably good pace attack in Morne Morkel, Dinda and Umesh Yadav who on their day can be really probing and hard to get away.
Needless to emphasize that they will have their moments in the IPL but this Daredevils side is by no means is as dangerous as that of the previous seasons and to really pass shivers down the spine of the opposition, they will have to do a lot of home work and get their act together.
In what looked like a duplication of the Delhi performance, KXIP took a leaf out of the Daredevils book much to the dismay of the owner Preity Zinta who has not had not had the rub of the green going her away in any of the seasons.
Apart from some fire works by Ryan Mclaren in the latter half of Punjab innings, it was a disastrous show by them against the first timers Pune Warriors after coming out into the middle under a new skipper Adam Gilchrist. After tottering at nine for four at one stage, they did well to reach a respectable total of 112 in the end but dropping a couple of dollies did not help their cause at all.
Like the Daredevils, the Kings also suffer from the same deficiency of star players and will have to pull their socks up to fancy chances of making it big on the bigger stage. Gilly’s leadership will be put to test and will have to lead by example to pump up the dressing room.
The super Sunday turned out to be a one sided affair and has raised many questions on the nucleus of Delhi and Punjab teams which in the course of the tournament will surely trouble them if they don’t play like cohesive units.
Monday, 11 April 2011
Saturday, 9 April 2011
IPL 4: Deja Vu for KKR; CSK Continue Winning Streak
By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan
There could’ve been no better start to the fourth edition of the IPL, sans a certain Lalit Modi. A revamped and a brand new spirited Knight Riders took on the confident defending champions CSK, and a what a cracker of a match this turned out to be. Lady Luck fully to his aide, MS won the toss, and batting first was an easy choice.
Springing up surprises has never been alien to Dhoni, and in another one of such moves, Anirudha Srikkanth was sent to open the innings with Murali Vijay, who perished very early. Raina and Anirudha gave the innings a much needed consolidation, with Anirudha letting loose occasionally. The KKR fielding looked decent until Pathan senior suddenly started playing butter fingers, dropping two catches. First he dropped Anirudha off his own bowling, and if that wasn’t enough, he dropped Raina this time at mid-on.
While the Superkings hit the occasional boundaries, what worked for them was that they kept the scoreboard ticking. The going looked pretty smooth for CSK until the 10th over, after which Raina (33 off 29) was dropped again by Morgan at mid-wicket before Delhi lad Sarabjit Ladda scooped one to get rid of him in the 11th over.
KKR managed to keep the Dhoni-Anirudha duo quiet for a while post the strategic time out, but that did not stop Srikkanth junior from getting to his half century. And then it was enough of singles and mature batting. It was time to up the ante, and Anirudha did exactly that. While Dhoni stood and delivered, Anirudha belted one over mid-wicket for another six.
Dhoni gloved one to Bisla after he was surprised by some extra bounce off Kallis’ bowling. The 18th and 19th over being quite economical, the final over changed the script for the Super Kings. While Anirudha (65 off 55) perished in a weird manner, Styris and Morkel took the innings ahead with a flurry of boundaries, Kallis conceding 16 runs in the last over.
Requiring 154 to start off the outing on a good note, Kallis and Bisla took charge of the KKR innings. Bashi squeezed one through the gap between mid-off and extra cover, while Kallis also opened his account with a boundary. The fourth over turned to be productive with Kallis opening the full face of the bat to send one crashing to the boundary, and then pulling another one to the fence.
As Bisla fell to Jakati, Yusuf Pathan walked into the middle hoping to set things right. That was not the case to be, as Dhoni produced a marvelous piece of fielding to get rid of him. Kallis continued calmlly on the other end, reaching yet another 50, but before long, he too departed, scooping one to fine leg off off Ashwin’s bowling. Morgan was the next man in, who was undone thanks to some fine glove-work by Dhoni.
Gambhir finally walked into the middle and played a blink-and-miss innings. A huge tactical error this, to come lower down the order. Laxmiratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary played gritty camoes, the 19th over witnessing two sixes, and a boundary.
The last over and KKR needed 9 to win. After taking a couple, Shukla fell on the third ball. With 7 required from 4 deliveries, Iqbal Abbdullah walked in, and stole two runs. 5 off 3. Shah Rukh and his son egging the team on. Missed run out chance, and more importantly, a dot ball. 5 off 2. Single taken. 4 off 1. Single. Match over. KKR outplayed. Period.
Dhoni steered his team to yet another victory. While the Super Kings were already brimming with confidence, this victory has given them a clear psychological advantage. The man who stole the show, however, was Anirudha Srikkanth, who played a gem of an innings, to prove to the world that he’s not an ordinary son of an extraordinary father!
There could’ve been no better start to the fourth edition of the IPL, sans a certain Lalit Modi. A revamped and a brand new spirited Knight Riders took on the confident defending champions CSK, and a what a cracker of a match this turned out to be. Lady Luck fully to his aide, MS won the toss, and batting first was an easy choice.
Springing up surprises has never been alien to Dhoni, and in another one of such moves, Anirudha Srikkanth was sent to open the innings with Murali Vijay, who perished very early. Raina and Anirudha gave the innings a much needed consolidation, with Anirudha letting loose occasionally. The KKR fielding looked decent until Pathan senior suddenly started playing butter fingers, dropping two catches. First he dropped Anirudha off his own bowling, and if that wasn’t enough, he dropped Raina this time at mid-on.
While the Superkings hit the occasional boundaries, what worked for them was that they kept the scoreboard ticking. The going looked pretty smooth for CSK until the 10th over, after which Raina (33 off 29) was dropped again by Morgan at mid-wicket before Delhi lad Sarabjit Ladda scooped one to get rid of him in the 11th over.
KKR managed to keep the Dhoni-Anirudha duo quiet for a while post the strategic time out, but that did not stop Srikkanth junior from getting to his half century. And then it was enough of singles and mature batting. It was time to up the ante, and Anirudha did exactly that. While Dhoni stood and delivered, Anirudha belted one over mid-wicket for another six.
Dhoni gloved one to Bisla after he was surprised by some extra bounce off Kallis’ bowling. The 18th and 19th over being quite economical, the final over changed the script for the Super Kings. While Anirudha (65 off 55) perished in a weird manner, Styris and Morkel took the innings ahead with a flurry of boundaries, Kallis conceding 16 runs in the last over.
Requiring 154 to start off the outing on a good note, Kallis and Bisla took charge of the KKR innings. Bashi squeezed one through the gap between mid-off and extra cover, while Kallis also opened his account with a boundary. The fourth over turned to be productive with Kallis opening the full face of the bat to send one crashing to the boundary, and then pulling another one to the fence.
As Bisla fell to Jakati, Yusuf Pathan walked into the middle hoping to set things right. That was not the case to be, as Dhoni produced a marvelous piece of fielding to get rid of him. Kallis continued calmlly on the other end, reaching yet another 50, but before long, he too departed, scooping one to fine leg off off Ashwin’s bowling. Morgan was the next man in, who was undone thanks to some fine glove-work by Dhoni.
Gambhir finally walked into the middle and played a blink-and-miss innings. A huge tactical error this, to come lower down the order. Laxmiratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary played gritty camoes, the 19th over witnessing two sixes, and a boundary.
The last over and KKR needed 9 to win. After taking a couple, Shukla fell on the third ball. With 7 required from 4 deliveries, Iqbal Abbdullah walked in, and stole two runs. 5 off 3. Shah Rukh and his son egging the team on. Missed run out chance, and more importantly, a dot ball. 5 off 2. Single taken. 4 off 1. Single. Match over. KKR outplayed. Period.
Dhoni steered his team to yet another victory. While the Super Kings were already brimming with confidence, this victory has given them a clear psychological advantage. The man who stole the show, however, was Anirudha Srikkanth, who played a gem of an innings, to prove to the world that he’s not an ordinary son of an extraordinary father!
Friday, 8 April 2011
Modi, Twitter and the “once upon a time I was the boss” saga…..
by SHUVAIT KOUL
“Sad to see the way the opening ceremony was conducted. Well I am sure the Games will be better. So let's hope they will overcome the start."
For those of you who are wondering who uttered this Gospel Truth, come alive because it is Lalit Modi time once again, but on this ocassion not in Chennai for the inaugural match between CSK and KKR but on twitter, probably a better pitch for him now?
Any guesses why the sidelined Modi did not like opening ceremony. Well no prizes for guessing since Mr. Modi must be using a lot of tissue papers seeing his baby getting nurtured by a new father in Chirayu Amin. One feels awful for the pioneer of IPL but all he can do now is tweet sitting in front of his laptop for hours together.
Not only has this season of the IPL become bigger in terms of the number of teams but also because of the fact that we have the rare intellect of Lalit Modi on Twitter who will be passing his priceless critical comments ranging from the supposedly dismal opening ceremony to the post match analysis to the outfits and cheering abilities of the blonde and beautiful cheerleaders.
While the entire nation is up in arms supporting Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption, we must also show our solidarity to Modi by reading and if possible occasionally replying to his tweets. The reason is plain and simple; just like Anna Hazare Modi is also our hero, though for more bad reasons that sane ones.
It is also worth mentioning that the political correctness of Lalit Modi is just incredible. One can discover that from his tweets.
But this perfection in him is not intrinsic but an inference of his fond memories with the BCCI. He has been there previously and knows how much it hurts when you get a rap on the knuckles.
IPL 4 has kicked off and so has the tweetamania sponsored by the genius Mr. Modi. This season promises to be a slobber knocker and so does Modi’s charming presence on twitter during the tournament.
He will leave no stone unturned in making the best use of his spare time, oops I mean all the time in opening our minds to the new vistas of IPL minus Modi saga.
“Sad to see the way the opening ceremony was conducted. Well I am sure the Games will be better. So let's hope they will overcome the start."
For those of you who are wondering who uttered this Gospel Truth, come alive because it is Lalit Modi time once again, but on this ocassion not in Chennai for the inaugural match between CSK and KKR but on twitter, probably a better pitch for him now?
Any guesses why the sidelined Modi did not like opening ceremony. Well no prizes for guessing since Mr. Modi must be using a lot of tissue papers seeing his baby getting nurtured by a new father in Chirayu Amin. One feels awful for the pioneer of IPL but all he can do now is tweet sitting in front of his laptop for hours together.
Not only has this season of the IPL become bigger in terms of the number of teams but also because of the fact that we have the rare intellect of Lalit Modi on Twitter who will be passing his priceless critical comments ranging from the supposedly dismal opening ceremony to the post match analysis to the outfits and cheering abilities of the blonde and beautiful cheerleaders.
While the entire nation is up in arms supporting Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption, we must also show our solidarity to Modi by reading and if possible occasionally replying to his tweets. The reason is plain and simple; just like Anna Hazare Modi is also our hero, though for more bad reasons that sane ones.
It is also worth mentioning that the political correctness of Lalit Modi is just incredible. One can discover that from his tweets.
But this perfection in him is not intrinsic but an inference of his fond memories with the BCCI. He has been there previously and knows how much it hurts when you get a rap on the knuckles.
IPL 4 has kicked off and so has the tweetamania sponsored by the genius Mr. Modi. This season promises to be a slobber knocker and so does Modi’s charming presence on twitter during the tournament.
He will leave no stone unturned in making the best use of his spare time, oops I mean all the time in opening our minds to the new vistas of IPL minus Modi saga.
Kochi does it again!
By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan
The 22 yard strip looks revamped. Oh yes, there’s a temple, trees, a traditional drummer, a kathakali dancer, a beach, a boathouse and elephants. Ok, there might be more elements, but these are the ones that stand out. Amidst these show-stealing visuals, one might not notice the wickets peeping out, crying out loud for attention.
For the benefit of those wondering what is being referred to here, all I can say is that the Kochi Commandos, oops sorry, Kochi Tuskers Kerala have done it again! If they’ve garnered attention because of their absurd choice of names, they should be expecting the name-game snowballing into a huge avalanche, all thanks to their official website!
The homepage is in itself an epic failure. Apart from the gaudy visuals that overshadow the pitch, there are facebook and twitter flags fluttering around, and “book tickets” banners on the virtual Kochi stadium. Shady (literally) spectators waving “fan club” flags, the outfield screaming out names of the sponsors, and their logo flying high somewhere in the sky; all this and more to be ROTFL your AO!
Let’s now conduct a post-mortem of the content. They talk about archaic stuff like “vision and mission”, about the coach, the team and the partners. Dude, who wants to know about all this? And in the slimmest possibility that someone would like to know, why not google instead?
Looks like the team owners are keen to partner with the Kerala Tourism board. There nothing cricket related available on the site, except for a basic information of the squad and fixtures. Explore Kerala, weirdly, finds a place on the site. What’s more, the owners are actually elated that the team name attracted so many eye balls. They’ve lost it, and they’ve made that fact official by coming up with this masterpiece!
And speaking of the name, what a huge impact it had! And from Kochi Commandos to Kochi Tuskers Kerala, there’s not been much improvisation! Seems like the franchisees are of the opinion that men with the leather and willow with bow down in front of the mighty tuskers! Lol! :P
The 22 yard strip looks revamped. Oh yes, there’s a temple, trees, a traditional drummer, a kathakali dancer, a beach, a boathouse and elephants. Ok, there might be more elements, but these are the ones that stand out. Amidst these show-stealing visuals, one might not notice the wickets peeping out, crying out loud for attention.
For the benefit of those wondering what is being referred to here, all I can say is that the Kochi Commandos, oops sorry, Kochi Tuskers Kerala have done it again! If they’ve garnered attention because of their absurd choice of names, they should be expecting the name-game snowballing into a huge avalanche, all thanks to their official website!
The homepage is in itself an epic failure. Apart from the gaudy visuals that overshadow the pitch, there are facebook and twitter flags fluttering around, and “book tickets” banners on the virtual Kochi stadium. Shady (literally) spectators waving “fan club” flags, the outfield screaming out names of the sponsors, and their logo flying high somewhere in the sky; all this and more to be ROTFL your AO!
Let’s now conduct a post-mortem of the content. They talk about archaic stuff like “vision and mission”, about the coach, the team and the partners. Dude, who wants to know about all this? And in the slimmest possibility that someone would like to know, why not google instead?
Looks like the team owners are keen to partner with the Kerala Tourism board. There nothing cricket related available on the site, except for a basic information of the squad and fixtures. Explore Kerala, weirdly, finds a place on the site. What’s more, the owners are actually elated that the team name attracted so many eye balls. They’ve lost it, and they’ve made that fact official by coming up with this masterpiece!
And speaking of the name, what a huge impact it had! And from Kochi Commandos to Kochi Tuskers Kerala, there’s not been much improvisation! Seems like the franchisees are of the opinion that men with the leather and willow with bow down in front of the mighty tuskers! Lol! :P
IPL 4 Calling...... Superkings seem sturdy while KKR look to redeem themselves under a new leader
by SHUVAIT KOUL
The battleground is set and the gladiators are out. Season four of the IPL kicks off today with the pioneer Lalit Modi out of the scheme of things. The new boss - Chirayu Amin’s insight and big stage temperament will be put to test this time as the arena has transcended its erstwhile periphery.
Meanwhile the opening game between the defending champions Chennai Superkings and the desperate-to-win Kolkata Knight Riders to be played at Chennai promises to be an edgy clash with Dhoni at the apex of self-belief after the World Cup triumph and KKR raring to go under a new and young skipper Gautam Gambhir.
With the likes of Kallis, Haddin and Yusuf Pathan coming in for the Knights, the team seems to have a proper blend of experience and exuberance of youth. In the previous seasons, KKR did not have enough fire power and ran out of gas at crucial junctures but this time the make-up of the team brings in a new ray of hope for them.
The Bowling attack though looks a little vulnerable with not much experience and the absence of the Aussie fast bowlers Brett Lee and James Pattinson will make them feel the heat.
CSK on the other hand must be oozing with confidence after their stupendous performances in the last season. The morale of the dressing room will be up particularly after seeing a World Cup winning captain leading them.
Hussey, Dhoni and Raina’s presence in the middle order makes them a formidable batting outfit. However, they will be going out without the flamboyance and muscle strength of Matthew Hayden and Jacob Oram. Filling their shoes will be difficult though they did not play much in the third season.
Dwayne Bravo, the new pick snatched from the Mumbai Indians may turn out to be the trump card for Dhoni as the tournament catches up. Like KKR, CSK’s bowling too looks a brittle. Doug Bollinger will hold the key while the onus will be high on Ashwin and Tim Southee.
All in all, the encounter seems to be between two evenly matched sides but the Superkings will certainly have their tail up being the defending champions and playing the first match at home will do their confidence a world of good. But given the new look of the Knights, the competition will be cut throat.
The battleground is set and the gladiators are out. Season four of the IPL kicks off today with the pioneer Lalit Modi out of the scheme of things. The new boss - Chirayu Amin’s insight and big stage temperament will be put to test this time as the arena has transcended its erstwhile periphery.
Meanwhile the opening game between the defending champions Chennai Superkings and the desperate-to-win Kolkata Knight Riders to be played at Chennai promises to be an edgy clash with Dhoni at the apex of self-belief after the World Cup triumph and KKR raring to go under a new and young skipper Gautam Gambhir.
With the likes of Kallis, Haddin and Yusuf Pathan coming in for the Knights, the team seems to have a proper blend of experience and exuberance of youth. In the previous seasons, KKR did not have enough fire power and ran out of gas at crucial junctures but this time the make-up of the team brings in a new ray of hope for them.
The Bowling attack though looks a little vulnerable with not much experience and the absence of the Aussie fast bowlers Brett Lee and James Pattinson will make them feel the heat.
CSK on the other hand must be oozing with confidence after their stupendous performances in the last season. The morale of the dressing room will be up particularly after seeing a World Cup winning captain leading them.
Hussey, Dhoni and Raina’s presence in the middle order makes them a formidable batting outfit. However, they will be going out without the flamboyance and muscle strength of Matthew Hayden and Jacob Oram. Filling their shoes will be difficult though they did not play much in the third season.
Dwayne Bravo, the new pick snatched from the Mumbai Indians may turn out to be the trump card for Dhoni as the tournament catches up. Like KKR, CSK’s bowling too looks a brittle. Doug Bollinger will hold the key while the onus will be high on Ashwin and Tim Southee.
All in all, the encounter seems to be between two evenly matched sides but the Superkings will certainly have their tail up being the defending champions and playing the first match at home will do their confidence a world of good. But given the new look of the Knights, the competition will be cut throat.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
IPL 4: A Curtain Raiser
By Parvathy Gopalakrishnan
Its back again. The fourth season of the slam bang version of cricket is all set to get underway tomorrow, the first match being played between Dhoni’s Superstars and Gambhir’s Knight Riders.
It will be interesting to note how the IPL proceeds without the man at the helm, Lalit Modi. The game-changer in the truest sense of the term has now been kept far away from the proceedings. Chirayu Amin, appointed by the BCCI as the new IPL boss, will find it a tad difficult to fit into the boots of the man-who-stole-the-show.
There are a thousand reasons for hurling brickbats at the man, but one cannot help but applaud the fact that he had a vision; a vision that revolutionized the game, and helped cricket wed entertainment. His brainchild also resulted in an amazing display of wealth by all the franchisees and a great platform for cricketers brimming with talent.
One of the most immediate pieces of bad news even before the show begins is that there is a 11%, or $460 million drop in the value of the IPL. However, the franchisees can breathe a sigh of relief because the brand value of six teams, except for Rajasthan Royals, King XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders have seen an upward trend. This fall in the value of these three teams can be attributed to their performance, both on field and beyond the boundary.
Amidst all the hype, hooplah and controversies, two new teams join the big fat family. Sahara Pune Warriors led by Yuvraj Singh, and Kochi Tuskers Kerala led by Mahela Jayawardene will be more than anxious to go all guns blazing in the debut season.
Among the other notable changes, this season will have less number of matches. Spanning over a period of 51 days, this season will have 74 matches, 70 league matches, and four knock-out ones, the battle being fought on 12 grounds.
However, the most obvious change this time around is that there will be no IPL Nights. Yes, you heard it right. It cooked a storm last year, with the Indian players shoving the blame on these parties for their lack-lustre show in the T20 World Cup. Is this a smart move, only time will tell.
With the franchisees’ purses being fatter this time – the cap on each franchisee going up from $ 5 million to $ 9 million – each team had full financial backing to go for the kill, and build a team of their choice. Now that the teams are in place, the viewers are all ready for some whack-it kind of cricket. When it comes to cricket, there can never be an overdose!
Its back again. The fourth season of the slam bang version of cricket is all set to get underway tomorrow, the first match being played between Dhoni’s Superstars and Gambhir’s Knight Riders.
It will be interesting to note how the IPL proceeds without the man at the helm, Lalit Modi. The game-changer in the truest sense of the term has now been kept far away from the proceedings. Chirayu Amin, appointed by the BCCI as the new IPL boss, will find it a tad difficult to fit into the boots of the man-who-stole-the-show.
There are a thousand reasons for hurling brickbats at the man, but one cannot help but applaud the fact that he had a vision; a vision that revolutionized the game, and helped cricket wed entertainment. His brainchild also resulted in an amazing display of wealth by all the franchisees and a great platform for cricketers brimming with talent.
One of the most immediate pieces of bad news even before the show begins is that there is a 11%, or $460 million drop in the value of the IPL. However, the franchisees can breathe a sigh of relief because the brand value of six teams, except for Rajasthan Royals, King XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders have seen an upward trend. This fall in the value of these three teams can be attributed to their performance, both on field and beyond the boundary.
Amidst all the hype, hooplah and controversies, two new teams join the big fat family. Sahara Pune Warriors led by Yuvraj Singh, and Kochi Tuskers Kerala led by Mahela Jayawardene will be more than anxious to go all guns blazing in the debut season.
Among the other notable changes, this season will have less number of matches. Spanning over a period of 51 days, this season will have 74 matches, 70 league matches, and four knock-out ones, the battle being fought on 12 grounds.
However, the most obvious change this time around is that there will be no IPL Nights. Yes, you heard it right. It cooked a storm last year, with the Indian players shoving the blame on these parties for their lack-lustre show in the T20 World Cup. Is this a smart move, only time will tell.
With the franchisees’ purses being fatter this time – the cap on each franchisee going up from $ 5 million to $ 9 million – each team had full financial backing to go for the kill, and build a team of their choice. Now that the teams are in place, the viewers are all ready for some whack-it kind of cricket. When it comes to cricket, there can never be an overdose!
Monday, 4 April 2011
First Cup and now Moolah; Brand Equity Reaches Apex
by SHUVAIT KOUL
In a country where cricketers are considered to be demi-gods, the stellar triumph of becoming the World Champions doesn’t come alone but generates a sky-rocketing effect on the brand equity of players.
This is precisely what is set to happen with Dhoni’s victorious brigade in the aftermath of the WC conquest.
With big brands and companies signing-up the champions, one cannot agree more on the fact that this mammoth accomplishment has already made the men in blue the undisputed torchbearers of brand endorsements in India.
While Dhoni, Sachin and Yuvraj have turned out to be the major beneficiaries with their values attaining prodigious levels, the likes of Gambhir, Bhajji, Zaheer, Kohli and Raina are not far behind.
From the business perspective this victory is far more different than that of 1983 when the concept of brand endorsements was still to sink in completely. However, the ever-growing celebrity status of cricketers in the past decade and a half has made the corporate world invariably zero down on them when it comes to endorsements and publicity.
In the run-up to the World Cup, with Team India being the firm favorites to lift the cup, various corporate pundits had already foreseen the steep rise in the brand worth of players.
The stakes for Dhoni’s men were high before the World Cup had started and now the claims are remarkably higher. This gives a clear cut picture of the direct proportionality between the business sector and cricket in India.
In a country where cricketers are considered to be demi-gods, the stellar triumph of becoming the World Champions doesn’t come alone but generates a sky-rocketing effect on the brand equity of players.
This is precisely what is set to happen with Dhoni’s victorious brigade in the aftermath of the WC conquest.
With big brands and companies signing-up the champions, one cannot agree more on the fact that this mammoth accomplishment has already made the men in blue the undisputed torchbearers of brand endorsements in India.
While Dhoni, Sachin and Yuvraj have turned out to be the major beneficiaries with their values attaining prodigious levels, the likes of Gambhir, Bhajji, Zaheer, Kohli and Raina are not far behind.
From the business perspective this victory is far more different than that of 1983 when the concept of brand endorsements was still to sink in completely. However, the ever-growing celebrity status of cricketers in the past decade and a half has made the corporate world invariably zero down on them when it comes to endorsements and publicity.
In the run-up to the World Cup, with Team India being the firm favorites to lift the cup, various corporate pundits had already foreseen the steep rise in the brand worth of players.
The stakes for Dhoni’s men were high before the World Cup had started and now the claims are remarkably higher. This gives a clear cut picture of the direct proportionality between the business sector and cricket in India.
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