Anurag Thakur, the BCCI General Secretary, has defended the much-maligned Indian Premier League, saying the IPL is still a “big brand” and that the market has proved the BCCI is on the right track with its recent reforms.
“The market tells you if we are doing the right thing or not,” Thakur said. “If we have a lot of sponsors coming our way, that means whatever steps we have taken in the last few months are in the right direction.”
Thakur was speaking at the official unveiling of the 2016 IPL trophy and the new Vivo-IPL logo. According to Thakur, Vivo mobiles, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer that has replaced Pepsico as the tournament’s lead sponsor, was just one of four parties interested in being title sponsors.
“The other three are still interested in coming on board in other ways,” Thakur said. “As far as IPL’s branding is concerned, yes we got a hit in the last couple of years, we have struggled. But we have brought definite reforms over the last few months. When you are looking for a title sponsor and we got not just one, but four companies lined up to bid. Even Vivo wanted to be partner for the next 7-12 years but we had the option to go only for two. So IPL is still a big brand.”
Give the recent developments in the ongoing crisis at FIFA where major sponsors like Coca Cola have voiced their discontent over the allegations of widespread corruption, PepisCo’s decision to pull out of IPL was eerily similar. When questioned by Firspost if mutual reassurances were sought between BCCI and Vivo, Thakur said as long as steps are taken, BCCI can stay clear of issues like the one FIFA is facing.
“It’s like when I entered politics a few years back. Everyone kept telling ‘politics gandi hai, kaun jaata hai usme’ (Politics is dirty, who wants to go there). But someone has to take the responsibility of cleaning it up,” Thakur said.
“At the same time, it’s not like every sponsor is pulling away from FIFA. Even in our case, we have more new generation sponsors on board. Paytm paid more than the previous sponsor. There are more sponsorship deals lined up.”
Speaking about implementing the Justice Lodha committee’s reforms ‘in toto’, Thakur said the BCCI is awaiting the recommendations from the committee in regards to the functioning of the board. “We can’t create success stories overnight and we can’t clean up the mess overnight. Our focus is not on individuals but the institution. In the last seven months we have brought in reforms to that end”
Vivo, on their part, are clearly aware of the image-battering the IPL has taken over the last few years but see this as ‘fresh start’ for Vivo and BCCI as the company seeks to make an impact on the Indian market.
“Everything has ups and downs but we are looking to the future. In our interactions with BCCI, we have become more confident that the BCCI will work together with us and present the world a cleaner IPL. We think we have the right platform at the right time,” said Alex Fong, CEO of Vivo Mobiles India. Fong added that their bid to be a long term title sponsor is a signal of their intent.
Thakur said he did not agree with the opinion that PepsiCo withdrew because of the IPL’s image. He sees the new deal with Vivo as a validation of the long term association of Pepsi with IPL. Asked if Vivo Mobiles matched PepsiCo’s part of the bid for the two-year duration, Thakur did not give out any details immediately but dropped a hint later that Vivo did match Pepsi’s bid.
“[Vivo] came first, they matched the price and now they are on board. We are also glad to have a young company associated with IPL,” Thakur said.