Covid-19 impact: Players on back foot; uncertainty plagues nation’s smaller leagues

Less than three years in the past, Deepak Hooda, the one incomes member of a big household, couldn’t afford a bicycle. Today, India’s kabaddi captain drives an SUV. Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) modified Hooda’s life—the participant fetching Rs.1.15 crore within the 2018 public sale from Rs.12.6 lakh in 2014 which then was the second-highest value. Subhankar Dey, Ashmita Chaliha and Ajay Jayaram use earnings from the Premier Badminton League (PBL) to fund careers. It was together with his Rs.7 lakh from the volleyball league that helped Rohit Kumar construct the household dwelling with in Uplani, Haryana.

Franchise leagues, modelled or impressed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) that started in 2008, have impacted the lives of India’s sportspersons. Cricket leads the way in which adopted by soccer, which has the Indian Super League, however kabaddi, badminton, desk tennis, tennis, volleyball, wrestling and boxing too have helped many make a residing from sport. A kho-kho league can also be within the works.

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“The league has been a major source of financial stability for our boxers as well as the entire ecosystem of technical officials, coaches and referees,” says Ajay Singh, president of Boxing Federation of India, which held its first Big Bout Indian Boxing League final December.

The Covid-19 pandemic although threatens India’s standing as a nation of leagues. The large ticket IPL, valued at $6.eight billion in 2019 by world advisory agency Duff and Phelps, has been postponed indefinitely and with corporates reeling from the financial impression of a lockdown it will likely be powerful for a lot of leagues. “But for Covid-19, the federation would have organised the league this year too. Now roping in sponsors won’t be easy. Let’s see when we have the next professional league season for volleyball,” says Amir Singh, Arjuna award winner and former India captain, who was a part of the committee arrange by Volleyball Federation of India to watch the league which started final yr. Each of the six groups within the league spent Rs.75 lakh on gamers; costs going as much as Rs.14 lakh from a beginning bid of Rs.three lakh on the public sale.

“The commercial cycle can’t be forced. Market will respond, but at its own time. We are six years old and we have to be patient,” says Charu Sharma, who co-founded PKL in 2014. “In India where the major chunk of the sponsorship goes to cricket, this pandemic, we reckon, will have a negative impact on sponsorship,” says Vita Dani, chairperson and co-promoter of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).

“Next year will be a huge challenge. Luckily, the league is (more than) eight months away…Vodafone has been our sponsor for all these years. Next year, I don’t know,” says Prasad Mangipudi, government director of SportzLive which organises the three-week PBL spending round Rs.40 crore.

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The fifth version of PBL ended on February 9. PBL is among the most high-profile leagues after IPL because of the sport’s picture constructed by Indian gamers led by PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth amongst others. Last yr, Sindhu and Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying attracted the joint-highest bid of Rs.77 lakh which was the utmost allowed.

Each of the seven PBL groups had a handbag of Rs.2 crore and collectively spent Rs.13.40 crore of the Rs.14 crore. Ko Sung Hun went for Rs.55 lakh with Lee Cheuk Yiu (Rs.50 lakh), Shin Baek Cheol (Rs.45 lakh), Sourabh Verma (Rs.41 lakh), Tommy Sugiarto (Rs.41 lakh) and Hendra Setiawan (Rs.40 lakh) have been a number of the different large purchases.

This might dip with out continued company backing. Mangipudi says he’s roping in additional buyers for smaller quantities ought to the title sponsor again out. PBL may also attempt to leverage higher the traction it will get in South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Denmark and Spain due to gamers from these international locations, he says.

Asking Badminton Association of India (BAI) to cut back licensing charges is a method of paring prices, he says. Renegotiating participant contracts is one other.

“We are definitely going to request the players because those are substantial costs for the team owners, almost half the cost for them. I am sure players will respond because, at the end of the day, it is their league. After lockdown ends, we will present this to all the stakeholders: BAI, players, team owners,” he says.

Not simply prices

While prices can be a serious obstacle, it isn’t the one one. UTT’s Dani says, “To conduct the league, the following is necessary: players, venue, logistics and operations. At present, there is uncertainty across all four areas.

“Players need to travel to reach the venue; at present, there is no clarity on when aviation activity will resume.” UTT doesn’t plan to carry the league with out overseas gamers. The final season was held in New Delhi in July-August 2019. Dani says it should search for an appropriate 18-day window this yr.

The Tennis Premier League is hoping it might probably maintain the third version in December however co-owner Kunal Thakkur says plans to announce overseas gamers in August have been placed on maintain. “Even if (travel) restrictions are lifted, a lot of players might not want to travel now,” he says.

Though he says PKL wouldn’t be affected commercially as a result of many of the offers are usually not high-value, Sharma thinks it’s best to take a look at 2021. “Instead of force feeding the (2020) season into any kind of schedule, moving to 2021 is perhaps a sensible thing to do…. PKL is not a small event which can be forced into one week. There is an enormous amount of planning and logistics involved. It’s a 12-venue affair,” he says.

PKL cashed in on its reputation in 2017 when majority proprietor Star India signed a Rs.300 crore, five-year take care of cellular firm, Vivo. The 12 franchises spent Rs.50 crore on gamers, two of them fetching over Rs.1 core and 10 being within the Rs.70-99 lakh class.

In 2018, Star reportedly earned round Rs.150 crore from commercial revenues and sponsorship, and trade specialists had projected a rise of that revenue to Rs.200-230 crore for 2019.

Last yr, PKL was unfold over 13 weeks (July 20-October 19) and had a prize-money pool of Rs.eight crore, with the successful group getting Rs.three crore and the runners-up Rs.1.eight crore. With the sports activities financial system anticipated to take an enormous hit, the organisers shall be glad even when they will maintain the event. No date has been introduced for this yr’s event or the gamers’ public sale.

(With inputs from Avishek Roy, Rutvick Mehta and Abhishek Paul)