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On 16th November 2013, all of us witnessed Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian whites for the very last time. Sachin retired from cricket in great style, leaving us teary-eyed as cricket fans from all over the world watched him conjure his magic with the bat in his hands for the very last time. It was a day filled with tributes and mementos to the great legend with all of us recollecting our memories of the Master Blaster. No one can ever forget the heart touching speech made by Tendulkar, where he thanked all the people who had a role to play in his life, which is a measure to the humility he possesses, and what a really great man he is. It does seem God made him to play cricket, after all.
It is cricket that has made the man who he is and it is cricket that has defined his life. And a look at the scores in his last series doesn’t seem to befit the quality of his game and the records he has amassed in his career. After recording a victory against a sorry West Indian team full of T20 specialists, rather than Test match players, in the first Test by an innings and 51 runs, the second Test was won by India by an even greater margin of an innings and 126 runs.
In all honesty, the matches were grossly one-sided, with India dominating the proceedings all the way, and the West Indian players didn’t come close to matching their Indian counterparts even once. It was sad that Sachin had to go out in a series of such low quality cricket, and it would have been so much better had his last series been against a better side, where he could retire playing at the highest level, against the best bowling attack in the world. And surprisingly, this was possible as India was all set to face South Africa in a 3-match Test series, a 7-match ODI series, as well as 2 T20s, and that too in South Africa, which was scheduled to begin by the end of November.
The BCCI had the South Africa cut short significantly, due to a controversy concerning Haroon Lorgat, who is a former head of Cricket South Africa (CSA) and also a former executive member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The original tour, which had been announced way back in July 2013, had been cut short to 3 ODIs and 2 Tests, and this came as a huge disappointment as the tour of South Africa was much awaited and would really test the mettle of the Indian players. The rescheduled itinerary of the Tour was announced on September 2 and on September 4, just two days later, it was announced that the West Indies will tour India to play 2 Tests and 3 ODIs. It was no surprise as on October 10, Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement as the West Indies series would allow him to retire in front of his home crowd, and along with that it would enable him to retire having played exactly 200 Test games for India.
I cannot help but think that the South Africa tour was reduced by the BCCI, so as to accommodate the West Indies series, so that Sachin could retire in India, instead of having him retire in the African nation. So let us assume that this is true, and there is plenty of evidence to think that this actually happened. Here’s why. First and foremost, the BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world by a huge margin with assets 470% more than the board in second place, i.e. Cricket Australia. Its net worth in the beginning of 2013 was USD 294 million, which is 400% more than the next board.
For 2014-2025, it has proposed to the ICC that it is to get 75% of the total revenue generated by the ICC, which it deems fair according to the financial contribution made by it. The BCCI often provides funds on loan to other cricket boards and in light of these facts, it can be said that it is in a position to exert an alarming amount of influence over the other boards. Secondly, Sachin retiring outside of India would mean losing out on a large amount of ticket and advertisement revenue. Sachin’s last test match can easily be said to be the most watched test match ever and it would mean higher revenue for the BCCI, and the match taking place in South Africa would mean that the BCCI loses the stadium revenue completely.
Thirdly, it was highly possible that Sachin fails to perform in South Africa, as it would mean facing the world’s best fast bowler Dale Steyn, along with Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Jacques Kallis, thus making a truly world class pace attack, and it was possible that Sachin would fail to shine in his last Test series, given that he was not in peak form and condition and South African conditions are conducive to fast bowling. Sachin going out with India losing would certainly not look good, which is why West Indies were called in, with their Test team in tatters, and in Indian conditions, there was almost no chance of India losing at home to the Windies.
The BCCI, as seen in the picture, is insanely prosperous, in comparison to cricket boards in other countries, as well as associations of other sports in India. The BCCI is registered under the Tamil Nadu Co-operatives Act as a charitable organization for promoting cricket in India, and is a body separate from the Government of India, unlike other sports associations. It does not depend on the Govt for its finances and it is not mandatory for the BCCI to publish its Balance Sheet at the end of the accounting year. In the last decade or so, its revenues have soared exponentially due its various commercial ventures, and it was announced that it has earned 950 crore in revenues and 350 crore surplus for the fiscal year 2012-13.
Business Standard reports that BCCI is expected to earn a total of approximately 2000 crore from the sale of rights such as hotel, travel sponsorship as well as stadium revenues, i.e. ticket sales and advertisement hoardings inside the stadium. Nike paid a sum of USD 43 million for the official kit sponsorship rights for the period of 2010-13. The media rights for 25 neutral venue one-day matches to be played over the next 5 years were awarded to Zee Telefilms for USD 219.15 million in 2010. Sahara were also long time sponsors of the Indian cricket team but withdrew it in early 2013 due to differences with the Board, with their latest sponsorship deal worth USD 70 million, being withdrawn. Above all these, the BCCI earns money through the IPL from the team rights and various other sources.
The BCCI also earns a huge chunk of money from advertisement revenue from the television, with the ads being played in between overs and wickets. According to Business Today, these are the normal rates of revenue i.e. 1 lakh/10 seconds, for a normal test match, 2.5 lakh/10 seconds, for a normal ODI match and 5 lakh/10 seconds during an IPL match. The hypothesis I made earlier can be solidified with the fact that the advertisement revenues were multiplied by more than 5 times during Sachin’s farewell series. For one day of a regular Test match, the BCCI earns 5 lakh per day from stadium hoardings, whereas it earned 20 lakh per day in the first Test of the West Indies series and 25 lakh per day in the second Test.
Also, the TV ad revenue was about 10 lakh/10 seconds, which is 10 times more than the normal revenue. The amount of money the BCCI earns is astronomical if you compare with the other cricket boards and also other sports associations in our country, and that is not all. The BCCI refuses to pay taxes to the Government as it claims to be a charitable organization, and hence should be exempted from incurring any tax liability, which is quite unfair I think, given the various commercial ventures of the Board. At present, the Government and the Board are locked in a legal battle regarding the same.
To conclude, I would say that money has won over the love of sport in the case of Sachin. A sportsperson of Tendulkar’s stature and repute deserves to go out playing the highest quality of cricket against the best opposition in the world, unlike what has happened with the West Indies. So what Sachin would have ended playing 201 Tests?
So what Dale Steyn may outwit him on the field? At the end of the day, it is sport which matters above all, and not the financial side of it. The Bharat Ratna could have been awarded after the South African tour. A bad last series would have made no major blot on the legend that is Sachin Tendulkar, as long as he hangs up his boots playing the game at the highest level. A separate testimonial match, like what happens in football, may also have been an option with former teammates like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, donning the whites again to bid farewell to the Master. What a sight that would have been!
All’s well that ends well. Sachin went out gracefully and with all the accolades he was worthy of. But still something doesn’t click when you look back at the West Indies games.
