Good morning!
I’ve been thinking about the Karnataka government’s demand for free RCB tickets for each politician all week, and it’s taken me through the five stages.
“There’s no way they give in” (denial), “What the hell is wrong with these politicians?!” (anger), “Maybe they’ll back down once they see the public backlash” (bargaining), “They’re going to get away with this, aren’t they?” (depression), and…well, almost acceptance.
But, before I could resign myself to the state of the world, I had a different feeling. Curiosity. These politicians pick up tickets on a regular basis anyway. Even in their public statements, they’ve made it clear that this is a standard practice.
The deputy chief minister had the audacity to claim that this isn’t a bad thing because they are only asking for 3 tickets each (~750 tickets). It’s a meagre increase from the 400 tickets that were already reserved for them under the table, and significantly less than what other state legislators ask for [The Hindu article today has all kinds of numbers like this].
Then, I read Jarrod Kimber’s article today about American investment in cricket, and specifically their reluctance to get embroiled in the political shenanigans that make doing business in India difficult (presumably like local politicians demanding tickets). And it made me ask – Why have the politicians complained now? What’s changed?
There is an obvious theory; the parade deaths and the Chinnaswamy closure last year gave the KA legislators some negotiating room. But wouldn’t they have done this deal under the table sometime in the last 10 months, rather than publicly on the eve of the tournament?
Seriously though, why are they making a public hue and cry about it? It’s going to cost them votes in the next election – and their politically savvy opponents are going to take advantage. The BJP’s big shots in the state are calling out this move for its corruption despite the fact that it had overwhelming bi-partisan support amongst politicians. The incumbent government are the big losers here, for not much gain.
However, there is a little nuance that I think is important to note; headlines have said that RCB have given the politicians three tickets each. That’s not true. Technically, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) – who lease the Chinnaswamy to RCB for the IPL – are the ones giving away these tickets.
RCB’s allocation of 85% of the tickets aren’t affected. RCB weren’t the ones who had to crawl to the KA government to “negotiate” – that was the role of the KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad.
Why do I think this is important? Because the KA government don’t have leverage over RCB anymore. The team just threatened to move away from Bangalore this year (and are playing two games away this season). And, they just sold out to the Birlas – who have far more local political sway than a British alcohol company – and an American investor who will look to his local partners to protect his investment.
Which leaves the legislators in a tough spot. What if the new guys stop giving them tickets? Best to try and officialise your bribes when you still have leverage – which explains why it suddenly became a public issue in the half week between the confirmation of RCB sale’s (24 Mar) and the opening IPL game (28 Mar).
The politicians are scared of a changing cricket order.
Then again, this could all be a bullshit theory. Maybe I’m just “coping more” as the kids like to say. Maybe I’ve just regressed from depression to bargaining again.
No. Wait. Make that anger. These idiots are going to drive RCB out of Bangalore.
🏏 Cricket Roundup: The changing revenue of the IPL, Anderson hates The Hundred, & a disabilities league conundrum.
DC beat LSG by 6 wickets, & the IPL saw 515 million viewers in the first weekend.
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Hemant Brar on Sameer Rizvi’s match-winning half century, Sarah Waris on Rishabh Pant’s opening gamble, & Deepu Narayanan on LSG’s remodelled powerplay bowling.
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Daya Sagar with KKR’s Kartik Tyagi on surviving the “lost years” of his career, Narbavi R talks to KKR’s Anukul Roy understanding his role better via his domestic team, Sreshth Shah asks if Varun Chakravarty is a victim of his own success, & Abhishek Mukherjee on why Vaibhav Suryavanshi should not play for IND too quickly.
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Nathan Johns on what fielding coaches do, as Irish coach John Mooney joins DC.
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Javed Farooqui on the changing revenue playbook of IPL teams, Jarrod Kimber on how American investors started trusting cricket, & The Hindu on the discontent surrounding the Karnataka legislators demand for 3 free tickets each – when fans are limited to just 2 tickets via the online booking system.
NZ-W beat SA by 2 wickets (chasing 346 with 2 balls remaining!).
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Hypocaust has the numbers from NZ’s ridiculous win.
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Will Macpherson ranks the 30 best County cricketers of the 21st century.
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Will Macpherson with James Anderson on hating The Hundred, Paul Newman with Notts captain Haseeb Hameed on life outside the ENG squad, Andrew Miller with Sam Cook on adding to his one ENG cap, & Tanya Aldred with Asa Tribe on living up to his great County season last year.
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Raf Nicholson has a fascinating report on the disability leagues in England – and how the classification of neurodivergent disabilities has led to fewer opportunities for those with learning disabilities. It’s an interesting edge case in expanding classifications.
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Ben Bloom on the Over-70s competitions that have blossomed in recent years.
📚 Best Features: The legend of Anil Gurav.
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“Before Sachin, there was Anil Gurav”
✍️ Bharat Sundaresan writes about the player that preceded Tendulkar’s talent in his age and regional group, and how that talent was squandered. It’s a decade-old story that’s been republished upon Gurav’s far too early death this week.
🗞️ Quick News: AUS contract changes, IND to tour ZIM, & potential new County rules.
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Gideon Haigh on the evolution of AUS cricket contracts.
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IND to tour ZIM this year.
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The ECB is considering new financial rules for County teams with Sussex’s struggles, and Paul Farbrace will leave his role as Sussex coach this year.
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The MCC will not bail out Middlesex after ex-players petitioned the club.
📺 A/V: Why Zampa chose the PSL, & Garth/Wareham on their summer.