In sports, there are legends and there are legacies. In the business of sports, there are brands, and there are dynasties. Over the course of 2012, Indian cricket came full circle and now will find itself in a serious struggle to reinvent itself, and its brand.

After a fairytale start to 2011, when the Indian cricket team made a serious run at becoming a dynasty and revenue powerhouse, the tide has turned quite swiftly and today is struggling with an identity and brand sustainability crisis. And this is despite limited competition from any other sports brand in India.

Indian cricket, despite being the favourite national pastime, is suffering from fatigue both on and off the pitch, but that’s not the real reason why the business of cricket is at risk of sharply declining profitability. The real reason why the business and brand of cricket are declining and diluted respectively, is that the true brand ambassadors and the backbone behind the brand that is Indian cricket have retired over the past year, leaving a void that will be difficult to replenish.

PHENOMENAL SACHIN

Within the lucrative business of cricket, there has been one constant brand — Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Unlike any other transcendent sports superstar of this generation across the world, brand Tendulkar has helped shape India’s marketing and advertising strategy for sports in India. Even in 2012, the year when he had been written off as a force in the world of brands, he figures among the top 100 athletes in the world at number 78 with estimated earnings of $18.3 million (according to Forbes magazine). In his 23-year career, he has evolved as a brand, from Pepsi and Boost, to Aviva Life Insurance, and over 60 brands in between.

At the core of every enduring and endearing brand is the certainty of longevity, ethics and likeability. On the surface of a powerhouse brand is the grit and dependability that comes from creating records, and the will to compete. Even today, Indian cricket has talent crawling from every cranny, but the probability of founding yet another dynasty or carving another career with a superstar’s brand sheen is fast approaching nil.

One reason is that Indian cricket is in rebuilding phase at an inopportune time from a business standpoint. At a time when Indian cricket is starting to reel from the multi-pronged competition it faces both at the club as well as the country levels, the loss of true greatness to retirements could not have come at a worse time.

There are journeymen and there are stalwarts, and Indian cricket right now has plenty of both. But legends and brands there are few, and as great a captain as M.S. Dhoni has proven himself to be, he too is facing a plethora of dilemmas, as his own personal brand gets adversely affected with each series loss and the consequent backlash.

VACUUM BEFORE US

Perhaps longevity is linked to balance, and today’s young cricketers face a challenging schedule. But, that can’t be a just enough cause for the sinking fortunes of the Indian cricket team, nor the slump in the brand and business of cricket. Spare a thought for some great cricketers who still represent the Indian team — Sehwag, Gambhir, and an extremely game Yuvraj. But, a slide on the pitch positively correlates with the sinking fortunes of the Indian cricket brand.

Brand Tendulkar is unique in and of himself — arguably the finest athlete of the last quarter century. Perhaps Indian cricket stakeholders got a windfall in that he proved to be legendary in every facet of the game and sportsmanship.

Add to that, the great wall of India and the serene solidity he brought to the world of cricket, often in partnership with the stylish stroke-making of the great VVS. The world of Indian cricket has lost its three dynasty-making players to retirement — two of them from all forms of cricket, and the greatest of them all to all but test cricket. The dynasty is fast eroding, and with it the brand depletion and dilution starts to make sense.

The business of cricket now is a multi-billion dollar industry, but unfortunately it isn’t a multi-brand industry. Dissatisfied cricket fans are looking for a reason why the dynasty no longer exists and the brand of cricket no longer carries the platinum standard.

Perhaps it is temporary and some of the younger cricketers will display brand-building traits to correct this anomaly. But it won’t be easy to create brands that can eclipse the combined 492 test matches and the 37,700 runs that go with them. Or, the combined 893 ODI matches and the 31,650 runs scored. And of course, the virtually unsurpassable 171 combined centuries in tests and ODIs that the great ones scored during their legendary careers.

Together, brands Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman helped make cricket a viable revenue model through their international cricket careers — all of this without any major foray into T20 internationals.

The retiring of these three brand ambassadors and brands puts Indian cricket in a tenuous position without a clear succession plan. This is hardly the position the business of Indian cricket wants to be in, and when an India-Pakistan series in India has little to offer apart from the waning embers of rivalry, one knows that the next generation branding must begin in earnest.

When one looks at the major retirements happening around us, the future of brand cricket across the world seems uncertain. The truth is, there may just not be another Dravid, Laxman, Ponting or Michael Hussey. And almost certainly never again another brand or cricketer, such as Tendulkar.

(The author is a Sports Attorney atJ. Sagar Associates. Views are personal.)

comment COMMENT NOW