BCCI-Not sending Team for Asiad Games in China

The sixteenth Asian Games also known as the XVI Asiad is to be held in Guangzhou in China from November 12 to 27 this year. There are about forty-two events scheduled for this edition of the Asian Games including Cricket. The Board of Cricket Control of India is not sending a team to participate in the Asian Games stating reasons of international commitments. BCCI has done a lot for Cricket in India and also the organized way in which the commercials have been managed, also the way in which they have built spectacle around the sport is worth emulating for any sport.

The fact is that BCCI has benefited itself, the consumer product companies, broadcasters to a large extent, players, state boards, event management companies, a host of administrators and managers. Once in a way there is an opportunity to represent the country in true sense to win a gold medal, a national pride, such an opportunity is given away by BCCI.

1. Firstly does the team represent India or BCCI?
2. The fact is that BCCI is an independent body, not answerable to any direct constitutional authority of India, not under Sports Authority of India but wields more power and has loads of money.
3. BCCI is under ICC, which is headquartered now in Dubai. Why Dubai?
4. BCCI signs up contracts for playing or broadcasting with only profit as the sole motto. Suppose, Cricket is to be represented at Commonwealth games as happened in 1998, BCCI may or not send the team or send a second class team to represent India, now for Asian Games
5. The broadcasting rights of India matches rake huge sums, as the viewership for Cricket is highest in the World.
6. The sports culture in India is driven by Idol worship
7. The idol makes the money and the dependent bodies make money, if the idol has huge crowd pull.
8. The sports persons are pulled by Advertisers, sponsors for monetizing this idol worship.
9. The players, managers, coach are all under BCCI contracts, which pays them the money, obtained through broadcasting, stadia rights etc.
10. When Packer of Australia went on to create what we call as one-day format, the existing bodies of cricket made hue and cry of it.
11. The channel which gets the broadcasting rights will try to maximize revenues through key matches which pull maximum viewership (India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilanka).
12. The channel may find other channels buying coverage in winning countries or extension of footprint in that country, Eg., Sony may soon have maximum footprint advantage in Bangladesh.
13. The other sports channels, who do not get broadcasting rights of the key tournaments, start/create similar tournaments with different sponsors, ICC Trophy, Champions Trophy, 20-20, IPL, Tri-series are all examples of such tournaments.
14. Nearly 80% of the cable and satellite homes would have watched India, Pakistan, if these countries had entered the entered the Super-8 stage. Nearly 4 times of the highest TRP ratings for any programme on television.
15. The premium charged for Super-8 matches if India and Pakistan played would have been 100% by channel.
16. The stakes are very high for the broadcasting channels after buying the rights to maximize the advertisement airtime.
17. The competition who failed to obtain broadcasting rights could be “Spoil-Sport” in many cases, in winning or losing matches of key countries, where viewer ship is high.