will ipl4 affect the polarization of fans...?

shared by straight point on Monday, April 05, 2010

to make the base of this post... i would like to draw your attention to this comment of mine (with minor corrections) on the last post by A Bisht... it is their cities fans cheer for... which started a good debate...

when ipl started people doubted whether club culture can be replicated to cricket and more importantly how fans supporting their 'local' team respond to the sachin getting out to say nannes... or dilshan hitting ishant out of park...

but by and large it will not be an exaggeration to say that by ipl3 polarization of fans to the concept of teams rather than individuals has taken place... they root for their local teams more... they follow their local teams more...

having said that... i also believe the biggest challenge will come after the auction will take place at ipl4... coz it will kind of break this polarization as presumably a lot is going to change...

the franchise will have to work a fresh to create the team fans following... and its going to be even harder than the earlier IPLs...

although there is no official announcement on the modalities about how players will be retained / traded in next ipl auction... but the unconfirmed bits filtering out (thanks to mahek) are...

franchisees will be able to retain four indian and three overseas players provided the franchise and the player agrees to a contract, and that the salary would count towards the seven million cap...

will the franchisee be able to retain 'icons' who have become the face of their teams... like dhoni for csk to give you an example... and if not... how will fans react to csk being lead by someone else they were looking as a rival till now...?

will it not affect the base of fans following and their loyalty... franchisees have managed to create in three seasons of ipl...?

though one thing which is certain about these uncertain prospects is that ipl will make lot of news either way...

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I had written a blog on this issue some time back. Here is a link: http://cricsis.blogspot.com/2010/03/indian-premier-league-2011.html.

It's an interesting situation for the current franchisees. They will want to retain players who have become an integral part of their brand, but cannot let it afford to eat up too much of the budget.

They will also have to look into the fact that many players are on the wrong side of 35... and whether it will be a good idea to retain / buy them on high salaries.

straight point said...

thank you shri for the wonderful link...

so apart from fans... even franchisee will have to face the dilemma which you have highlighted beautifully in the comment...

btw... have blog-rolled you... :)

Anil Singh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anil Singh said...

SP, my opinion is, if IPL remains a force to reckon with in years to come then not only ipl4 but further ipls too, will polarize fans on the basis of the cities. For simple reason being people will start believing that only the city as an entity is permanent. And with time a feeling will root in fans which will make fans see players just furthering the cause of the team and when a player's stint completes ,he moves on to some other pasture.

I think so,as business sense says cities should be the major attraction, as only then franchisees will be able to sell team merchandise in coming years.

And i think this fact is very much taken care of by IPL, when they chose to polarize fans on the basis of cities.

straight point said...

Ab... although your point is well made and taken... you seems to have missed the point of the post...

the crux of the post was... will the auction due at ipl 4 affect the polarization that has happened for past three years? coz lots of player will be traded and might end up at rival camps...

how will current franchise will cope with say dhoni who has become almost a brand for csk if he were to move to other team... and how the fan base of csk will react to it...

Anil Singh said...

@straightpoint__________ I understood the central idea of the post and that's why I said so. I still believe, the polarization of fans on the basis of cities will make the process easy for team owners. And the teams will easily make the transition, as they'll in essence look at the player transfers, as a way to make money. Like if they fail to retain a big player, they will buy a second fiddle. That way there they will make money.As retaining a player who wants more greener pasture is equivalent to getting a second or third fiddle.

Going by the IPL model,they will be knowing that the primary brand is the team. So even a new player will be made up to look like a local boy.

straight point said...

yea anil... i too hope the transition is smooth and less painful for current franchisees as well as fans who follow their teams...

however we will surely see some flab been shunned... which will make it more tighter, intense and competitive...

vmminerva said...

I think it is a fairly general statement that the followers mostly support their cities. But that isn't always the case - I know a lot of Chennai cricket lovers who are supporting Delhi, primarily for their Sehwaginan power. I myself am supporting Blore though I'm not Blore-ian.

I think the challenge will be to pick the most useful icons. Chennai without Dhoni and Kolkata without Dada will be difficult to market.

straight point said...

vm... it seems we all are talking from our personal experiences... :)

but i have reason to believe that ppl who support their cities will out number the one who don't... and i also feel the current franchisee will already be thinking deep about to retain those fans... and their face of team as you have yourself said csk without dhoni won't be as strong a brand...

so i thing we can say for certainty is that we are in for some interesting times as far as ipl4 is concerned...

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