BHAVANS MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2016, KUWAIT

Transcription

1 BHAVANS MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2016, KUWAIT International Cricket Council Study Guide

2 INTRODUCTION The game of cricket has undergone several transformations since mid-sixteenth century, when it was first played in England. What started as a pass time activity of serving a small wooden piece by one player and hit with a suitably designed club by a second player has evolved into one of the most popular games today. Whereas most changes in the game i.e. evolution of rules, formats, technology adoption etc. had a positive impact, this cannot be said with certainty for the league cricket, which has come to the scene in last ten years or so. Whereas International Cricket Council (ICC) is still the supreme governing body for the game, its hold is gradually slipping due to increasing popularity of the league cricket. This study guide attempts to provide various viewpoints relating to the impact league cricket has over the game and various stakeholders namely; ICC, national governing bodies, players, spectators, advertisers, broadcasters etc. In order to understand the impact better, the study guide begins with a brief overview of various stakeholders. It then examines various leagues that are currently being played and finally examines how they have affected the game of cricket. The guide ends with some thought provoking questions for the reader to deliberate and examine. International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket. The ICC has 106 members: 10 Full Members those play-official Test matches, 37 Associate Members, and 59 Affiliate Members. The ICC is responsible for the organization and governance of cricket's major international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 International's. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket, and also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (which include all Test matches), it does not govern domestic cricket in member countries, and it does not make the laws of the game, which remain under the control of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Rules and regulations The International Cricket Council overlooks playing conditions, bowling reviews, and other ICC regulations. Even though the ICC does not have copyright to the laws of cricket and only the MCC may change the laws, nowadays this would usually only be done after discussions with the game's global governing body, the ICC. The ICC also has a "Code of Conduct" to which teams and players in

3 international matches are required to adhere. Where breaches of this code occur the ICC can apply sanctions, usually fines. In 2008 the ICC imposed 19 penalties on players. Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) The FICA is an organization that co-ordinates activities of all the national players associations representing professional cricketers. Founded in 1998, FICA serves as the voice of the players within international cricket as it has a representative on the International Cricket Council s (ICC) Cricketing Playing committee. Main objective of the FICA is to have players voice in the game and to protect commercial interests of the members. Quite often, FICA and ICC are at cross-roads and hence their relationship is not always harmonious. In June 2013, the first chief executive of FICA, Tim May, stepped down citing lack of willingness on the part of ICC to bring in governance changes to tackle corruption and malpractice within professional cricket. Currently, Australian Cricketers Association (ACA), Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), Professional Cricketers Association (PCA, England), New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA), South African Cricketers Association (SACA), Sri Lankan Cricketers Association (SLCA) and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) are members of the FICA. It is important to note that Indian players do not have a formal association affiliated to the FICA. This partly explains the firm grip Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the apex Indian cricket governing body, has on the game. Like any other game, players are the face of the cricket. Their on-field performance directly affect popularity and development of the game. Prominent players are often idols in their countries and internationally. Cricket Leagues: Several cricket leagues have come on the cricket arena in last ten years. The most prominent, lucrative and popular among them is the Indian Premier League. Some of the most popular cricket leagues are mentioned below. Indian Premier League (IPL) Started in 2008, Indian Premier League has enjoyed unparalleled success in the game of cricket. It was started as a counter to a rebellion league called Indian Cricket League (ICL). ICL was started by Subhash Chandra, promoter of Zee TV Group and was attracting talent from all over the cricketing world. The

4 league was not recognized by ICC, but was having direct impact on ICC member boards due to participation of their elite players. In order to counter this, BCCI started the IPL. IPL is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India contested every year by franchise teams representing Indian cities. The tournament is scheduled in April and May every year and attracts huge crowds. Although teams have changed since initial auction held in 2008, total number of teams competing were still eight i.e. the same as initial numbers. In its short life, IPL has seen many administrative and ownership upheavals. There have been several corruption charges and its founder Commissioner Lalit Modi continues to take shelter in London to save himself from the long arm of the Indian law. Corruption charges, following investigation by an independent panel headed by retired supreme court judge, has resulted in suspension of two franchises Chennai Super kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years. Each of the eight teams play with each other twice in a home and away round-robin tournament. At the end of the league stage, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams play each other in the first preliminary round, with the winner going straight to the final while the loser goes on to the second preliminary round. The third and fourth place teams play each other to decide who will take on the loser from the first preliminary round match. The winner of the second preliminary match will move onto the final, where the winner will be crowned the Indian Premier League champion. The teams must be composed of no more than 10 foreign players, out of which no more than four can be included in the playing XI. A minimum of six players from the BCCI under-22 pool must be included in each squad. This has opened up great opportunities for uncapped Indian players. Players are acquired by any of the five ways i.e. annual auction, signing domestic players, trading players and signing replacements. A player can be traded only with his consent and the difference between the new higher contract value and old value is shared by franchise and the player. Under 22 players are paid minimum USD20,000 annual salary (i.e. approx. INR13 lac), whereas other players are paid minimum USD50,000 (i.e. approx. INR33 lac) annual salary. Maximum cap for each player was US$5 million in the first player auction. Total prize money was Rs.--- for 2016 season. Apart from the prize money, teams also share revenue in television rights. Television rights were sold to Sony Entertainment Television (Set Max) network and World Sport Group (WSG) for more than USD1billion for a ten year period. Sony WSG then re-sold part of the rights geographically to other companies. Despite this, they earned approx. Rs. 1,200 crore advertising revenue in 2016 season of the IPL. Teams also earn money from match ticket sales for the home team game and sponsorships. Needless to say, apart from cricket, IPL is a big business as well.

5 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) CPL is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean. It was started as a commercial Twenty20 cricket league in 2013 by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). WICB finalized funding agreement for the lease with Mr. Ajmal Khan, founder of Verus International a Barbados based merhank bank. While finalizing the league, WICB also held discussions with Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) to ensure that player related issues are addressed right at the outset. CPL is usually played in July August every year. Six teams play a group stage and and a knockout stage of the tournament. In the group stage, the teams each play ten matches, three of which are at home. All six teams are co-located at a single playing site for five sequential matches of the tournament, then the whole tournament moves to a new location for five more games, and so on. The play off stage includes two semi finals and a final to decide the tournament winner. Each of the six franchises have 15 contracted players, including a maximum of five international players and four under 23 players. CPL has a salary cap of USD780,000. The tournament has various sponsors, including the title sponsor tournament was called Hero Caribbean Premier League. Major broadcasters such as Sony Six, BT Sport, Guardian Group, ESPN, Fox Sports, SuperSport, Sky etc. had won rights to broadcast games in various distinct geographic regions game attracted a global audience of more than 65 million, and this year is expected to have even larger viewership. Major international players like Kieron Pollard, A B De Villers, Shoaib Malik, Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan, Faf Du Plessis, Brad Hodge, Thisara Perera, David Miller, Shane Watson, Darren Sammy, Michael Hussy, Morne Morkel, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon Mccullum, Sunil Narine, Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal etc. play for various teams of the league. Big Bash League (BBL) BBL is an Australian professional Twenty20 cricket league established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. Since inception, fast food chain KFC has been the main sponsor of the tournament. Hence, the tournament is also known as KFC Big Bash League. The league features eight city based franchises. The matches are played in southern hemisphere summer months of December and January. The tournament is now eighth in the list of most attended sports leagues in the world in terms of average crowd per match. Each team plays every other team at least once during a season. However, each team is also assigned a particular rival with whom they play for the second time in the same season. The assigned rival generally remains the same every season of the tournament. The group stage matches are divided into eight rounds of four matches each. Each team plays eight group stage matches, four at home and four away. The top four teams progress to the semi finals. The

6 final is played at the home ground of the highest ranked team. Thus, there are total 32 group stage matches and 3 knock out matches. Cricket Australia is mulling a proposal to play on Christmas Day from the next tournament onwards. If this is finalized, it will be the first in the sports history of Australia since no matches are scheduled on Christmas day. Each franchise can have a maximum of 18 contracted players for a season. Each team should have a minimum of two rookie contracts and a maximum of two overseas players in the team. Each team can also have a maximum of two overseas replacement players, in case the original overseas players get injured or withdraw due to any reason. Current salary cap for the tournament is $1.4 milliion. The clubs are also allowed to trade the contracted players during the two Trading Windows, usually available in Jan Feb and November. Total prize money for the tournament is $890,000. Prominent international players representing various teams of the league are Brad Hodge, Mahela Jayawardene,Chris Lynn, Samuel Badree, Lendl Simmons, Tim Paine, Darren Sammy, Kumar Sangakara, Arron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Kevin Pietersen, Moises Henriques, Johan Botha, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Andre Russell. Pakistan Super League (PSL) PSL is the highest level of professional Twenty20 men cricket league in Pakistan. The league is headquartered in Lahore and currently has five franchises nominally based in various Pakistani cities. The commercial rights to the initial franchises were sold for US$91million for a span of 10 years in December After several years of planning and previous two failed attempts, the league officially began on 4 February, 2016 in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first season of PSL was played in a double roundrobin format. Every team played each other twice and the top four advanced to the playoffs. The league uses draft system for player recruitment similar to that used in may North American professional sports leagues, as opposed to the auction system used in other more popular cricket leagues like IPL. Each franchise is allowed to pick a maximum of twenty players, including a maximum of six international players. For 2016 season, Total salary cap for a squad of 16 was US$985,000 and for a squad of 20 was US$1.1million. Players are were classified in five categories according to their value in international cricket. Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Emerging Players were paid US$140,000; US$70,000; US$50,000; US$25,000 and US$10,000 respectively. Habib Bank was awarded title sponsorship of the PSL for three years. Other sponsors include Brighto Paints, Ja. Clothing Company, Triptym, Zong, Huawei, Qatar Airways, Mobilink, Pepsi, OLX etc. Total sponsorship deals associated with the league, including the title sponsorship, is estimated to be worth more than US$6million.

7 Sunset + Vine were awarded official broadcasting rights for the first four seasons of the league. Tens Sports, PTV Sports and Geo Super were awarded broadcast rights in Pakistan for the first three seasons. Total broadcasting deal value is estimated at US$15milliion. Advertising rights for the first three years of the league were awarded to Pakistani company Blitz Advertising. Kapil Dev Players Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj(About this sound pronunciation; born 6 January 1959), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002, Kapil Dev is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He was also India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August Kapil Dev played an active role in ICL(Indian Cricket league). Kapil Dev's association with ICL was seen by the establishment as a conflict of interest as he was also the chairman of National Cricket Academy, a BCCI owned cricket facility. On 21 August 2007 Kapil Dev was sacked from his NCA post. Subhash Chandra had earlier stated that the ICL will go ahead regardless of the BCCI's stance. The International Cricket Council gave a statement through its chief executive, Malcolm Speed, that the ICC would not recognize the ICL unless the BCCI chooses to recognise it. The ICC looks at the ICL as an issue to be sorted out by the BCCI. On 25 July 2012 Kapil Dev informed BCCI that he had resigned from the ICL. Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Chris Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. Considered one of the most powerful batsmen in the limited-overs cricket, Gayle has set numerous records in all formats of the game. He is one of only four players who have scored two triple centuries at Test level. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL, he scored a 30-ball century and also the highest individual T20 score of 175. At the launch of the Caribbean Premier League, he was announced as the first franchise player for the league. Gayle captained the West Indies Test side from 2007 to He plays domestic cricket in Jamaica, IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, PSL for Lahore Qalandars, BBL for Melbourne Renegades and Bangladesh Premier League for Dhaka Gladiators. Clearly, he is the most sought after league cricketer. It is estimated that he earns annually about USD4.5million from various T20 leagues he represents.

8 How league cricket can affect the game? Big money IPL contracts can put many international players in collision course with their cricket boards. Take the case of Ben Stokes, the star English cricketer. He could have earned more than US$1.5million, if he were available for the entire IPL However, English cricket team s international cricket schedule and the terms of the central contracts meant that there was hardly any time he could have spared for IPL. In order to save his international cricketing career, he did not have any option but to opt out of the IPL auction. Same was the case with Joe Root, another English player. It will have to settle somewhere because over the years, as the IPL becomes bigger and more lucrative, there will be resistance from the players because they will be losing salary they could gain. Someone like Stokes would bring a high price ; said Heman Dua, the chief executive of IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils. Apart from the salary, IPL stars can also earn upto US$20,000 for a relatively brief appearance on behalf of one of the competition s commercial partners. It is said that many of Kevin Pietersen s clashes with England management occurred because he wanted to be granted more time to play in the IPL. Generally, all current England players lose out on IPL contracts because they have Test Series in May. The Australian players are available for more time and so they usually command larger chunks. Another case in point is Pakistan. Its players cannot participate in IPL due to the country s soured relationship with India. No other cricket league in the world can match monetary benefits of IPL, and the PSL is very poor cousin of IPL. Considering BCCI s firm hold over ICC, very less international cricket is now being played during IPL. However, with more and more leagues having their dedicated schedules, it will become increasingly difficult to organize international cricket. In that sense, if rewards and excitement in other cricket leagues catch up with those of IPL, cricket may go the football way where league football is the lifeline of the game. The league cricket has other effects as well. One of the major arguments in favor of IPL when it began nine years ago was that the league would not only ensure a secure professional career for our tireless first class cricketers who never made it to international fame, but also, through free interaction with established international stars, would ensure a steady supply of young talent. This young talent would not only challenge the incumbent Indian players for their places but also look the part by the time they made it to the senior India side. To some extent, career security of first class cricketers who never made it big on the international stage has been ensured due to IPL. In absence of league cricket, budding talents as well as their parents were always in a dilemma. If the young lad makes cricket his full time profession, he would either make it big or would retire in relative obscurity and modest means of living. This has definitely changed.

9 Some of the players are purely a product of league cricket. Ravindra Jadeja is a case in point. Playing as a 19 year old for Rajasthan Royals under the captaincy of Shane Warne in the very first edition of IPL, he impressed one and all. Playing under the spin legend, Jadeja helped his team win that first edition and caught the eyes of national selectors. Since then, he has secured his place in the Indian cricket team. The third edition of IPL in 2010 gave India its best bowler in all forms of the game today, Ravichandran Ashwin. He had a dream season with the Chennai Super Kings that year, where he impressed both in IPL as well as Champions League. This led to his selection to the Indian team for the Zimbabwe tour, and Ashwin has not looked back since then. Axar Patel was another young talent that made it to the Indian squad on the back of a good IPL performance. However, every one cannot take the pressure and flourish under more experienced players. There are chances that the young players may come under the awe of the stars and never become their real selves. Take the example of Sanju Samson. Adjudged the Best Young Player of the Season as a 19 year old after an eye catching 2013 season when he became the youngest Indian to score a 50 in IPL, Sanju today appears to be a shadow of his old dynamic self. Kuldeep Yadav, the young KKR player also caught the selectors eyes for the first time in 2015 edition of IPL. That even led to an India call-up, but unfortunately due to the pullout of the West Indian team, he could not debut and has since gone off the radar. Another impact of the league cricket can be on the popularity of the international cricket itself. For some reason, ICC is hell bent on restricting Twenty20 international matches, and prefers Test Matches and One Day Internationals. In today s fast life, league cricket fills this void, and provides family evening entertainment and outing options. No one, even the mighty ICC can artificially stem popularity of the shortest version of the game. At the end of the day, there is only so much money available with advertisers every year to spend on the game. Till the time economy is growing and new advertisers expand the available kitty year after year, it will be able to accommodate more cricketing events. But when the tide turns, the first casualty will be longer versions of the game. Spectators fatigue will also start to show up which will impact advertising and ticketing revenue. However, till that time..enjoy the game. Future of cricket and questions to consider While cricket is unarguably the most popular sport in some parts of the world, it has not yet become mainstream in most countries. Some people argue that premier leagues can greatly help boost the popularity of cricket around the world, but others seem to think that it is not worth commercializing the sport and making it all about money and glamour. Premier Leagues and Twenty20 Cricket seem to draw young viewers away from Test Cricket and ODI cricket. The world of cricket is increasingly dynamic, and its future is uncertain.

10 Questions: Do the benefits (more players getting opportunities, countries benefiting from hosting, audience is entertained) of Premier Leagues outweigh the drawbacks (focus of cricket shifting solely to Premier Leagues, fixing, large investment etc)? To what extent do Premier Leagues directly affect International Cricket? Are Premier Leagues causing cricket to become more about entertainment than about the sport? To what extent do Premier Leagues provide opportunities to new and upcoming players? Are Premier Leagues encouraging players to play solely for money instead of their team? For any queries, feel free to contact us over phone or social media. We will be very happy to provide any sort of help or support that you need. Happy Researching!! Urvish Chokshi Raj Bankoda