BCCI chief Gavaskar ‘blown away’ by UAE’s response to IPL

Joy Chakravarty 22:44 28/04/2014
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  • Another packed house: Crowds at Kings XI vs RCB make their thoughts clear.

    Sunil Gavaskar, the interim President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India-Indian Premier League, said he has been “blown away” by UAE’s response to the Twenty20 League.

    The first 20 matches of the seventh edition of the tournament, which has taken the cricket world by storm, is being played in the UAE at the moment – a decision taken as late as March 12 in view of the general elections being held in India.

    The time to prepare the lavish extravaganza may have been short for the organising team of the IPL, but it was more than enough for cricket fans here to show their love and excitement for the event.

    As many as 19 out of the 20 matches have been sold out, with thousands still turning up at the venue and returning disappointed.

    And in an open interaction session with the media on Monday – another first in the history of the tournament and a move that is being hailed as Gavaskar’s influence to improve relationship between the world’s richest and biggest cricket organisation and the press – the former Indian opener answered an array of questions on this year’s IPL and the road ahead.

    “We have been absolutely blown away by the crowds, even for the 2.30pm games. We initially thought 6.30pm games wouldn’t be an issue, but 19 out of 20 games have been sellouts, so that’s a sign of how the IPL has caught the imagination of people here,” said Gavaskar.

    While the default venue for IPL will always be India, Gavaskar indicated that UAE has put up a strong case for becoming a future host of the Champions League, the global T20 tournament for the top teams from various countries.

    “It totally has (staked its claim). The thing we have to take into account is that it is played in September-October, so we have to ensure it doesn’t clash with the start of the Indian season,” added Gavaskar.

    “The weather in India… it’s the monsoons still. That is in the back of our minds. We’ll answer that after the IPL is over… we will start the discussions soon.”

    The impact of the IPL wasn’t just limited to the ticket sales in the UAE, but also to the television ratings in India, and in all social media parameters.

    Speaking alongside IPL Chairman Ranjib Biswal and COO Sundar Raman, Gavaskar revealed the viewership for the opening match in UAE was bigger than in 2013 – a rating of 4.4 versus 4.1.

    And despite the general elections going on, the IPL matches on an average got ratings between 3.6 and 4.4 – far higher than the average ratings last year.

    On Twitter, the IPL became the first Indian brand to reach more than one million followers – a number that stood at 1.35 million on Monday.

    The online viewership of the matches has doubled – 12 million compared to six million last year. Page views on the website have been 50 per cent higher with 89 million page views till April 26. Facebook likes have nearly doubled to six million.

    Gavaskar and his team were full of praise for the support they have received from the UAE government and other agencies involved.

    He also said the successful and corruption-free hosting of the tournament will go a long way in bringing back the Indian national team to the UAE.

    “The UAE authorities have been absolutely superb. They have gone out of their way to ensure that undesirables are not anywhere near the ground,” said Gavaskar. “I think we’ve got tremendous cooperation from them and the ICC and BCCI anti-corruption units have worked together. It has been a formidable effort.

    “Integrity is an individual thing. You cannot guarantee it. The fact that there are deterrents in place has been a huge help. You have a tournament like this with nothing happening, surely UAE’s name will be free of the taint it has had in the past.

    “The UAE is trying to promote sport, not just cricket. They want to be the hub of sport. You have the Dubai Desert Classic golf, the tennis…I was there for the Dubai World Cup. The UAE authorities are well aware of the fact that everything should be absolutely clean, and that’s been the case so far.”

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