The Hindu Business Line : Banning endorsements can repulse corporates from cricket

Chennai April 15 Current focus is not on scoreboards but on the contracts of cricketers. Recent days have seen stern announcements from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) in the form of caps and other controls on endorsements by cricketers, followed by stories of `softening' too. At the time of writing, the Board is reported to have completely ruled out any talks with the sponsors or agents of the players.

What is the agent side of the story? Business Line sought to find out, by connecting to a popular agent, Latika Khaneja, Director of the New Delhi-based Collage Sports Management (www.collageindia.com) . "The Board makes its money from corporates who choose to associate with the game of cricket. By banning cricketers from endorsements, you are reducing their communication options and repulsing them away from cricket," she says. Her client-list includes: Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Sanjay Bangar, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Lt. Col. Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Ayaan and Amaan Khan, and young cricketers such as Dheeraj Jadhav, Ravinder Jadeja, Mayank Tehlan, Pradeep Sangwan and Ishant Sharma. Collage manages contract negotiation and all `off-the-field' business and marketing endeavours, including endorsements, financial planning, promotions, charitable pursuits and personal appearances, as one learns from the site.

Well, do we need agents? Yes, says Khaneja. Pray, why? Because the average cricketer is `a young boy in his twenties with very little exposure to commerce and business'. When suddenly propelled into superstardom, he has little idea of how to cope with it, she points out.

"He is surrounded by sycophants who promise him the world." And there are all those demands for the cricketer's time, be it for networking, press, commercials, or appearance requests. Agents free the player from these concerns, by filtering through the chaff and ensuring that the player's limited time goes to the right cause, says Khaneja. "We ensure he is not being cheated and he is getting his due from the market."

Curtailing endorsements may appease a few, she concedes. But such a drastic move can also dilute the dream of young cricket lovers who aspire to grow up and become the next big star, fears Khaneja.

"It will dilute the glamour and fanfare that makes cricket the religion of a nation by slowly moving corporate support out of cricket. It will no longer attract the best talent, who will be driven by their parents and well-wishers into less risky and more assured livelihoods. It will be highly regressive, sending cricket back to where other sports currently exist in the minds of the public."

On why the agents are a despised lot, Khaneja has an interesting explanation, as follows, "The cricket fraternity generally comprises senior cricketers who never had it so good and board officials who would like to be in a monopoly situation. They resent the agents for being the alternative power centres of the game."

The Board should understand the cricketers' concerns as very gifted sportsmen with a limited shelf life trying to maximise their careers, pleads Khaneja. "The Board should understand that by giving the companies opportunities to tie up with individual stars we are actually propelling them towards the game."

The jury is out, shall we say, on contracts?

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Banning endorsements can repulse corporates from cricket