Innovative value creation - lessons from the IPL

Sitting here watching the opening Indian Premier League [IPL] games this weekend made me realise how smart those guys and girls [that developed it] actually are. They have innovated to create something that is unleashing immense value.

iplWhat have they done? Think about it for a minute - there are some excellent lessons about value here for us. Here’s what stands out to me:

Blending a mixture of old and new to innovate

The Age-old game of cricket [about 400 years old]

+ professional sports marketing [fairly established]

+ a new exciting format [20/20 games - only a few years old]

= a brand new product

Very simple in theory, but it hadn’t been done before like this. They weren’t afraid to try it.

Sharing what they’ve created

Political instability in India meant that the IPL could not be held in India this year. So what did they do - simply move it to South Africa. They were not afraid to share the benefits of what they’ve created with another country - smartly realising that they would gain more by letting go than by cancelling the IPL season because they refuse to share the financial benefits.

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IPL-2 on the verge of a bubble burst (www.merinews.com)

Peripheral entertainment at core and destroying the basic fabric of the game seems to be the short-sightedness of IPL-2 commissioner Lalit Modi. If things go like this then dooms day is not far for the overvalued IPL bubble to burst..

THE SELF proclaimed messiah of world cricket, Lalit Modi, seems to have taken too many liberties with the brand ‘cricket India’; resulting in heartache for IPL broadcaster-Sony, IPL sponsors and advertisers; not to forget the most important constituent - the cricket fans of the country. This time round Modi and his coterie of franchisees felt that moneybags gave them the final say in terms of what was best for the game ridiculing cricketers, legends and the basic ethos of cricket.

The first problem arose when an arrogant Modi called his product recession proof and bullied his broadcaster to cough out an extra Rs 400 Crores, completely ignoring the market conditions. Sony took the bait of Modi’s proposed product modifications (forced mid innings break); ignoring consumer requirements as well as player considerations.

Fans, experts and cricketers (none less than Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh) have been unanimous in their protest against the marketing gimmick that has affected the sport product adversely. The coaches have no say in the timing of the break that makes it a poor cousin of the original time-out concept adopted by sporting disciplines such as basketball and volley-ball.

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Tendulkar, Dravid set tone in IPL 2

As they say form is temporary and class is permanent. Not surprisingly the limelight on the opening day of the second edition of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) was stolen by two of the greatest batsmen the world of cricket ever has seen.

Yes it were Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who engineered the triumphs for their respective sides. It was Twenty20 cricket but it went down to the skills and technique in conditions not ideal for batting.

Tendulkar and Dravid don’t feature in the scheme of things for India in Twenty20 Internationals, having given way to the young master blasters, but their knocks for Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers respectively could bring them back in contention.All About Latest Sports Action: Tendulkar, Dravid set tone in IPL 2

Royal Challengers take on Chennai Super Kings

Rampaging Bangalore Royal Challengers will look to continue their winning momentum while Chennai Super Kings, having lost the opening match, will be hoping to register their maiden points on the table when both take on each other in the fifth match of the Indian Premier League season 2 at Port Elizabeth.

With the inaugural IPL proving to be a hard nut to crack, Challengers look confident with their approach in this season after a thumping 75-run victory against the defending champions Rajasthan Royals. While, Chennai's defeat in their first match against Mumbai Indians would only pump their spirits up to come back hard at the Pietersen's gang.

With likes of Dravid, Kumble and Jesse Ryder in form, Challengers surely have a solid line-up to fire against the opposition. On the other hand, Muttiah Muralitharan and Albie Morkel's inclusion might make a difference to Kings.

Sehwag, Ghambir light up Delhi

The class opening pair in the Indian Premier League, the Delhi Daredevils' Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, showed they will be a handful against the rest of the teams when they powered their side to a convincing 10-wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab in their opening match at Newlands on Sunday.

The task was made easier when Delhi's target was amended to 54 off six overs after rain had taken players off the field with the score on 24/0 after 1.5 overs.

When the match itself started 100 minutes late due to rain, it had already been reduced to 12 overs a side. Rain during the Delhi innings made for an even shorter game, ultimately only 16.5 overs long.

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Indian prisoners protest against IPL TV ban

KOLKATA: Hundreds of inmates at a prison in Kolkata have gone on hunger strike after they were not allowed to watch Indian Premier League cricket matches, according to officials.

B.D. Sharma, the inspector general of West Bengal prisons, said the protest began after guards rejected prisoners' demands to be able to watch the matches taking place in South Africa that are being broadcast on a private channel.

"They are free to watch the national channels aired by the state-run network, but we can?t allow inmates to watch private channels for security reasons. We have to go by the rules," Sharma told AFP.

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