ISBN : 9782296541399
THE IPL, GLOBALIZATION, AND THE CHANGING IMAGE OF INDIA
As India continues to advance into the globalized economy it has sought to
create a set of brand name products that are recognizable around the world. One
such product has been the Indian Premier League—a Twenty/20 cricket
tournament that has been played for three seasons.1 The IPL drew talent from
around the world and was broadcast internationally. Yet at the same time, the
tournament has had strong local roots: the teams while international in terms of
players are Indian in their persona having been named after, and based, in
various Indian cities. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) initially
created 8 new teams (located in some of India’s biggest cities) and the contracts
for some players ran into over a million dollars which were salaries that were
previously unheard of in cricket. Sweetening the pot was a billion dollar sale of
the television rights to Sony. Attempting to emulate American sports teams, one
of the sporting franchises even imported cheerleaders from the Washington
Redskins. More important