When Lalit Modi and his billion-dollar baby, the Indian Premier League (IPL), were at their collective zenith, four years ago, nothing seemed beyond the realm of possibility.
Two more places for franchises were out to tender. The base price to buy in was set at an extraordinary US$225 million (Dh826m), more than double the money spent to buy the most expensive of the original sides, the Mumbai Indians.
Modi termed the interest in the openings “phenomenal”, and said an English Premier League football team wanted a piece of the action.
He had a fixture planned in the United States. He was even said to be on the brink of securing that ultimate marker of upward mobility: Abu Dhabi investment.
This was the start of global domination. “The response only reiterates the fact the IPL’s expansion will benefit our goal to popularise the sport and increase the fan base for cricket in India and the world,” the league’s mastermind said.
After the boom, though, bust followed quickly. Modi was exiled before the year was out. And the league never did make it beyond its original territories.
Is now the time to start thinking about expansion beyond India’s borders again?
“There would be interest from all over the world if this became a global event, not just in Dubai,” said Maqbul Dudhia, the general manager for sports business at Dubai Sports City.
“It is likely lots of people would have an interest in participating, but logistics would have am impact.
“Where do you play? How often do you play? How many hours would there be between matches? Whatever direction they want to take, that is for BCCI and IPL to decide.”
The UAE’s viability as a host for a potential expansion franchise is basically on trial via the 20 games which will be staged here while the elections are on back in India.
In terms of the logistics Dudhia cited, it is perfectly placed.
It takes around the same amount of time to fly from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, for example, as it does from Delhi to Bangalore or Chennai.
It is clearly a popular destination for Indian tourists, too. Plenty will be making the trip for this leg of the 2014 tournament, evidenced by the fact that around 700 visa applications have been made already, just for the sponsors of the tournament.
Sunil Gavaskar, the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and IPL, reckons it is a given the league will be a hit here.
“The three hours the game lasts for is almost the same length of time it takes to go see a movie,” Gavaskar said. “The difference is a movie is in an air-conditioned hall. Here it is the outdoors, you are able to mix with your neighbours.
“In a movie theatre you are not able to talk without being hit from behind and told to shut up.
“I’d imagine we will be able to get a full house in just about every game that we play.”
As a player, Gavaskar experienced the highs of Sharjah Cup cricket in the 1980s.
Since then, however, international matches played here have been an inconclusive barometer of the sport’s popularity.
Sometimes Pakistan’s limited-overs side have been watched by hundreds rather than thousands of supporters.
And yet, if Sanju Samson, say, were prised from the Rajasthan Royals to play for a Dubai franchise, it does not take a major leap of imagination to think Keralan expatriates would come to watch in droves.
The UAE definitely figured in Modi’s plans.
When those franchises were out to tender in 2010 he went on a tour of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, to check on its suitability as a potential IPL home ground.
His guide that day was more or less redundant, seeing as Modi, chaperoned by two heavy-set bouncers, spent most of the stadium tour engrossed in his two smartphones.
Circumstances meant it has taken a while in getting back here, but those charged with putting the show on here are confident it will be a success.
“It is amazing,” Dudhia said. “This is the biggest show on Earth, in terms of T20, and coming to us, to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai, is amazing. We are very, very proud to host it.
“We were humbled by the BCCI’s decision to bring it here. The public are excited, too, and we look forward to seeing many, many people in the stadium.”
pradley@thenational.ae
