Good morning!
I saw an interesting graphic today that reminded me of an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with one of my subscribers*; the entire jersey industry in India is bloody strange. The designs are strange, the sales tactics are strange, the whole ignorance of a stream of revenue is strange.
A look at that graph of colour schemes adopted by each team confirms one of those strange oddities of IPL jersey design; most teams are chasing the same red or blue design, and there is a whole spectrum of colours that aren’t even being explored. What makes this even stranger is that the two “iconic” jerseys are CSK and RR, who’ve steadfastly refused to be dragged into this en-shittification of design.
Why does this matter? Because it has revenue implications.
The league that the IPL keeps trying to compare itself to is the National Football League (NFL) in America. They’re the only league with a higher per-match broadcast value, and one of the more centralised league administrations outside cricket.
The NFL centrally licenses merchandising, including a $200 million annual deal for just their jersey license to Nike (this is just the biggest part of multiple merchandise deals they have). The Kansas City Chiefs made $142.3 million themselves from merchandise sales in the last financial year. In comparison, the most popular IPL teams can optimistically bring in up to INR 5 crore ($541K) from merchandise sales in one season.
Part of this is a focus on sponsorship. Aaquib Wani, a designer who makes cricket jerseys for the IPL teams, wrote a thread about how the overarching need for multiple sponsor slots can affect aesthetic design – which can then affect jersey sales as no one wants to walk around in a boring, ugly shirt.
However, despite that, there is demand. Akshay Ramesh wrote a great story about the vendors outside cricket stadiums who sell knock-off jerseys that make up 80% of the market – proving there is demand for merchandise sales at the right price and convenience in India.
So – what gives? Why the hell are the BCCI and the IPL teams – who very clearly only give a shit about money – leaving hundreds of millions of dollars of potential revenue untouched?
*I haven’t run it by her to discuss our conversation publicly, so let’s just say this rant was inspired by my chats with Mansi P!
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🏏 Cricket Roundup: India Women’s history, SA’s new pacer, & Dhoni’s CSK successor.
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Shayan Acharya talked to a bunch of IND-W captains about their struggles and joys before Women’s cricket blew up, while So Much Sport breaks down each Women’s Hundred squad after the auction.
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CS Chiwanza has the childhood background on teenage pacer Nqobani Mokoena who’s touring with the SA team in NZ.
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Venkata Krishna B on how Sanju Samson is poised to take over MS Dhoni’s crown at CSK.
📚 Best Features: How the ECB failed Livingstone, & the man behind ‘Tate’s Match’.
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“I asked England for help, I was told I care too much”
✍️ Matt Roller talks to Liam Livingstone about how Rob Key and the ECB have frozen him out in the last 12 months; it’s a damning interview that puts the English side’s repeated failures within a structural context. -
“Before Old Trafford”
✍️ Giles Wilcock looks back at the man behind ‘Tate’s Match’ – the unfortunate Fred Tate who was immortalised for losing an Ashes game in 1902 rather than winning one, and the reality of his impact on English cricket.
🗞️ Quick News: Cricket returns to BLR, Rana to miss most of the IPL, & the BCB doesn’t want to be investigated.
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Chinnaswamy has been given the nod to host IPL matches, & Harshit Rana is going to miss most of this IPL with the injury that kept him out of the WC.
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The BCB has asked the Bangladesh government to stop investigating their election; it partly reads as a futile threat to stay out of their business, and a futile beg to not give the ICC cause to suspend them for political interference.
📺 A/V: Sangakkara on sacrifice, Kirsten on coaching SL, & 25 years at Hampshire.
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“My father tortured me”
📽️ High Performance talks to Kumar Sangakkara about the sacrifices and pain it takes to be one of the greatest of all time. [YouTube] -
“How I will coach Sri Lanka”
📽️ Murali End hosts Gary Kirsten to discuss his plans for the Sri Lankan national team. In a related video, Jarrod Kimber discusses the international coaching carousel. [Murali End – YouTube, Kimber – YouTube] -
“Counting down the days”
🎤 Stephen Wallis talks to Women’s T20 WC tournament director Beth Barrett Wild about the prep for a tournament that kicks off in a couple of months. [Apple/Spotify] -
“25 years at Hampshire, Shane Warne & an Ashes Test”
📽️ Scott Taylor talks to former Hampshire chair Rod Bransgrove about 25 years at the County, the difficulty of red ball’s economics in the UK, and the future of County cricket. [YouTube]
That’s it for today!
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