The Indian cricket team's humiliating defeats in two Test matches against England has turned the spotlight on the business of the sport which enjoys a cult-like status in the nation.
The team — the reigning 50-over world champions — blamed their lacklustre performance on injury and fatigue after an action-packed year of back-to-back tournaments starting with the World Cup in March.
Their 196-run defeat at Lord's in London last week was followed by a 319-run loss at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Monday, to go 2-0 down in the four Test series.
But the team members have come under scathing criticism at home, for what many say, is their blind pursuit of cash rewards rather than runs.
Critics say honouring private contractual commitments with high-paying tournaments, such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), has taken precedence over Test match cricket, which is commercially less lucrative.
A "jaded, ill-prepared, disjointed side with most players showing no stomach or will for a fight," the Indian Express said about the team in an editorial this week.
It was one of several critical media outbursts, denouncing the growing commercialisation of the game.
In India, cricket is a national obsession - and a money magnet. It lures hoards of sponsors and advertisers who invest billions in cricket events every year.
Players are worshipped and they often take part in television shows and feature in glitzy advertisements. But in recent years, the IPL has emerged as the biggest source of revenue for many cricketers.
The IPL - valued at US$3.67 billion (Dh13.5bn) by the UK consultancy Brand Finance - is considered the golden goose of its owners, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It was valued at $2.01bn in its opening season in 2008.
But the IPL - one of the world's fastest-growing brands - is less sport, and more business. The BCCI promotes it as "cricketainment" - a cross between cricket and entertainment. High-flying socialites, Bollywood celebrities and business tycoons own most of the teams, adding to the league's glamour quotient.
The advertising inventory of Multi Screen Media, the company that operates Set Max - the official broadcaster of the IPL - was completely sold out even before the tournament began in April. Rohit Gupta, the president for network sales, said that 10-second advertisement spots were sold for 650,000 rupees (Dh53,860) each.
It reserved a limited number of unsold ad spots for the nail-biting qualifying matches in the end, which went for 1.5 million rupees per 10 seconds.
The broadcaster reportedly earned a windfall revenue of 10bn rupees from advertising.
Beyond the IPL, the game is the biggest driver of revenues for India's television industry, accounting for 85 per cent of the total television sports advertising spending - about 13bn rupees annually.
From the India-England cricket series - which involves four Tests, five one-day matches, and one Twenty20 match - the official broadcaster, ESPN-Star Sports, expects to earn a revenue of 2bn rupees.
It is selling a 10-second ad slot for 75,000 rupees for Test matches and 300,000 rupees for one-day matches. "The calendar year 2011 is poised to be the biggest in the history of ESPN-Star Sports in India," Rathindra Basu, a senior offical at the channel said at the beginning of the year.
They reportedly earned 8bn ruppes from the cricket World Cup earlier this year.
Players are gravitating towards avenues of the game that offer the biggest bucks, observers say.
"India has got to the top, but because of the amount of one-day and IPL cricket it is playing, Test match cricket has taken a backstage," said Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, echoing the sentiment of millions of cricket fans in India.
sports@thenational.ae
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Directed by: RS Prasanna
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Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
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Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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