CHENNAI: “It is just two more nights for Champions League to kick off,” screams a voice at a cafe. If you are a sports fan, it is hard not to look beyond Europe’s premier football event. Even in cricket-crazy India, Champions League doesn’t draw your mind towards the Twenty20 tournament. The cricket tournament by that name is six years old, but remains a poor cousin of the phenom called Uefa Champions League.
Promised to be the biggest club tournament in cricket at the time of inception is still facing an identity crisis, particularly in the urban milieu. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India joined hands with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to set the tournament rolling in 2009, it was a high-decibel event, with the best domestic sides from different countries fighting for what the richest cricket tournament at that time.
Despite its star cast, Champions League T20 has still not been a big hit. There are four sides from the Indian Premier League, two each from Australia and South Africa and one each from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies in this annual fixture, which has a window in the International Cricket Council calendar. But despite the presence of global big names, this tournament has struggled to attract the kind of attention IPL or the World T20 does.
“The IPL has an Indian flavour. Most of the sides are evenly matched and there is a level playing field. It has all kind of superstars playing against each other. And it provides a different atmosphere. That’s not the case with Champions League. You don’t see many stars in teams from South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand or Pakistan. Because most of them are tied up with the IPL franchises, you will only find two foreign players in these teams. So it’s always going to be a hard ask for the tournament to get as much attention as IPL,” observed TA Sekar, the director of Delhi Daredevils side.
In a tournament which heavily favours the IPL sides, only Australian teams have some superstars to grab eyeballs. From New South Wales in the inaugural edition to Sydney Sixers in 2012, teams from Down Under have matched IPL sides. “Australian sides have played some fantastic cricket. They have plenty of international stars and even if they miss out on a player to IPL sides, they bring in someone equal or better. Be it Perth Scorchers or Sydney Sixers, they have world-class players. That is missing in other sides. Trinidad were good but even they have a franchise side now. So it’s difficult for them,” added Sekar.
With the first two editions witnessing low intensity games, the organisers have gone for four IPL sides since 2011 with two of them playing from the qualifiers. “It’s easy to view this tournament as a mini version of the IPL. Hence the hype is always low in comparison and it does get lost in the bigger picture,” Sekar felt.
Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, though, believes the tournament gets neglected in the market because of the schedule. He believes an Indian fan still identifies cricket with Team India as the face and club tournaments are yet to capture their imagination. “Our fans might be mad about cricket. But they watch the game only for their superstars. The national side just suffered a humiliating loss in Tests and it will have a bearing on this tournament. IPL is slated during the off-season and brings a carnival mood. But CLT20 is a non entity in that regard,” Kakkar said.
With IPL attracting plenty of interest among advertisers, CLT20 has often struggled, with broadcasters selling ad space for much cheaper than the general value. “CLT20 is not in the same league as IPL or World Cup. That’s why each edition has had plenty of sponsors coming in and out. During the England Test series, Kabaddi league saw huge turnouts and there was good ad flow involving big brands. But CLT20 as a brand doesn’t have a face value. It’s cricket which is selling it,” Kakkar noted.
His view is backed up by the fact that the tournament now has a third title sponsor in as many years after telecom giants Airtel scrapped their 10-year deal with the tournament. This season Oppo, a Chinese electronic corp, is the title sponsor.
Even IPL sides have struggled to get sponsors for this event. Most of the sponsors include CLT20 for a cheaper rate when they sign deals for the IPL. “For IPL, the advertisement on the front of a shirt will fetch `8-15 crore. But for CLT20, the same space will just go between `20-40 lakh. Local brands have started to target foreign sides as they can land an even cheaper deal. Most sides struggle to make ends meet in Champions League. It burns a huge hole in the pocket,” said a franchise official of a leading IPL side.