Linking Cricket - IPL & Innovation

The buzz word around Indian sports revolves primarily on Cricket. The latest event making it to the top is the IPL (Indian Premier League). The concept/business model itself is an innovation. When the sport looked almost saturated, there came an innovation, a spark of fire which ignited the entire cricketing community with unknown fire & energy. Followers of the game sat glued to the TV sets, so much so that most of the streets ran empty during match timings.

Rules are made to be broken – an old saying, but IPL has adopted this by bending the traditional barriers. The format, the team composition, the economy and the sheer size is a total change from the orthodoxy which the game was known for. Even a small modification in the gaming tradition - like including cheerleaders, was seen as a sin during the first season of IPL, but today it has become order of the day.

The sport gear has also seen a plethora of innovations. The ‘mongoose’ bat, the new design shoes, the modified helmets, and many other accessories stand testimonies for innovations triggered by IPL.

A trendsetting movement always attracts innovators not only from that particular field but also from other fields. IPL did not make only cricket fraternity to innovate; it also opened the platform for the media to innovate. There was a live coverage of the match in 3-dimensional format, a concept put into use for the first time in India. This integrated technology innovation into a sporting innovation. Even the hotel industry innovated by offering live coverage & special events along with their F&B . IPL opened doors for innovators in advertising field, media, accessories manufacturers, hotel industry and various other fields linked to the event directly or indirectly.

Innovation happened even on the field; cricketers played the game with new methods that were beyond imagination. Improvised batting techniques, variations in bowling methods, each department of the game saw innovations.

IPL – a classic example of “Innovations in Cricket”.

Credit : Rakesh Babu