Former test cricketer and honorary secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Brijesh Patel is credited with making the association cash-rich. He has also been instrumental in launching the money spinning cricket league for Karnataka on the lines of IPL called the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) as well as setting up a 400 KW rooftop solar power plant at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, making it the first solar-powered cricket venue in the country. In an interaction with BusinessLine , Patel shares the association’s plans for the future.

How much of a success has been the solar power plant which you have set up on the rooftop of the stadium?

We set it up in April 2015 at a cost of ₹3.8 crore. The Chinnaswamy Stadium has now became the first solar-powered cricket venue in the country with the installation of a 400 KW rooftop solar power plant. The rooftop solar plant is designed to generate 5.9 lakh units a year, which is enough to power 200 AEH (all electric homes) using 3 kW power annually, and also cutting down about 600 tonnes of carbon emission annually.

The power generated is sent to BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) Grid under the Net Metering policy, under which KSCA pays for only the net of power generated and power consumed. In case of excess solar power if given to BESCOM, then the utility pays KSCA at ₹9.56 per unit for such power.

What are the things that you have carried out to turn the association into a profitable entity.

We launched the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) sometime back and it is a sort of a mirror image of IPL. While the association runs the tournament, the franchises backed by business houses and private individuals own the teams. The money coming from there has been of great help but more than that it has unearthed some very good talent like KC Cariappa, a leg spinner from Coorg.

During the recent IPL auction, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping ₹2.4 crore. We have now requested the BCCI to allow us two players from outside the city to play in the KPL because it is the board recognised association which is running it and is not a private organisation.

At this time of the year, it rains all over the country and there is no cricket anywhere and the boys want to play cricket. There is some resistance to the proposal. But, if the local associations want it, then what is the issue. We are saying give us 16 players out of 1,000 players and after all BCCI is all for cricket. I don’t see why they are not allowing. We are still pushing and requesting the board. Cricketers like Sanju Samson can play here and KPL can be used to feed the IPL with some very good players.

What is the revenue model of KSCA?

BCCI gives good amount of funds to us. Initially it was not much. But after the IPL was launched, the funds have increased and even we get some amount from TV rights. We get between ₹20 crore and ₹25 crore, which is good enough. We also regularly hold one day internationals as well as test matches which also gives us enough revenues.

So, how do you spend the funds you get from various sources?

There is a huge focus on junior and district level cricket. We have started building grounds in various districts and now we plan to do that in taluks as well. We have acquired about 100 acres of lands across the state for this purpose and have set aside about Rs 50 crore and an equal amount will come from the BCCI while the state government too has been of great help.

How have these initiatives helped cricket at the grassroot level?

We have introduced several new initiatives to tap talent at the district level itself. We introduced the inter-district matches so that lot more players get to play. Earlier, only two players from each zone were called for trials and they got about five minutes to showcase their talent. But once we threw it open to everyone, it has started yielding results.

Another thing that has happened is that district-level players need not come to Bangalore all the time. Most of them who came to Bengaluru from districts used to struggle with food, would get homesick etc. But now they can play there itself and focus more on playing good cricket. Test opening batsman, KL Rahul and fast bowler, Vinay Kumar are products of this scheme.

What are the other things you do to tap talent?

We organise a lot of cricket for players. We have a tie up with Cricket Australia, with their academy. We took a team to Australia for three years. We were runners up for two years and won once. Then BCCI woke up and said we should do something similar. Then we had with tie ups with New South Wales as well. Victoria brought a team here. They usually play five to six matches here. We have similar tie up with the English Academy. Rodney Marsh recently brought a team here.

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