IPL match times

So following on from Lalit Modis ‘ingenius’ move to shift the INDIAN premier league to South Africa I am left baffled at the match schedule, in particularly the match timings.

Modi knows the importance of getting the eyeball figure to shoot up and you cant get a better audience than a billion cricket mad Indians.

So his solution is to have the matches at times that are suitable for the Indian audience. All the round robin matches are set for 4 and 8pm India standard time. Now people can watch them and do some sports betting

Which in South Africa is to 12.30pm and 4.30pm. Now I wonder how many South Africans will be able to attend these matches at these odd times.

What is even more impressive is that CSA have agreed to this. Most South Africans, I will assume are hard working people with day jobs. So they will find it extremely difficult to make it to these matches day in day out.

And it will be day in day out as the massive schedule of almost 60 matches will be packed over roughly a month and a bit.

A key feature in the original IPL was that almost all matches drew huge attendance figures, largely through cheap tickets that were given away and the matches being at favorable times in the late evening just after work.

You have to wonder the logic behind the timings in SA though. How many people outside the’ huge Indian population’ would care to turn up? And even if they were interested would they be curious  enough to take a day off work or leave office early to catch the games? Specially in times of economic strife and volatile job security.

If the idea was to generate interest in SA, then surely the ultimate goal would be to get people to the grounds.Unfortunately, cricketing goals and Modis goals usually don’t see eye to eye, his is to ensure his piggy bank doesn’t sound too hollow when he taps on it every night.

Modi, it seems, is not only happy to alienate the unfortunate Indian fans but also the South Africans who have bent over backwards so many times that they must in serious need of a visit to the chiropractor.

10 Comments

  1. Amy said:

    You must be mistaken. Isn’t this the same South Africa with the legions of Indian cricket fans hiding in basements just waiting for the IPL to come to town?

    March 29, 2009
    Reply
  2. damiths said:

    Amy> Yes, but I think even those Indian fans will probably be working at 12.30.

    I have a friend over in SA who seems to think that not many ppl will turn up for the games except to see the SA’s in action and apart from students and the unemployed crowds might be poor at the times these matches are on.

    Adding you to the blogroll btw!

    March 29, 2009
    Reply
  3. Amy said:

    haha, I was joking of course. What kind of an existence would these fans have in their basements?! I think it’ll be brilliant to see near-empty stands in the matches. Yuvraj goes shit crazy and hits a dozen sixes but the only people to cheer are a small crowd of saffas. Makes for great television.

    March 29, 2009
    Reply
  4. ©hinaman said:

    @ Amy,

    I backtracked the link to visit your blog
    but it would not accept my comments with the (user/URL) profile.

    I did try many times.

    March 29, 2009
    Reply
  5. damiths said:

    Amy> Yes that is a sight Id love to see at the IPL. Hopefully it comes true and it falls flat on Modis face.

    March 30, 2009
    Reply
  6. Ceci said:

    The crowds were just window dressing though – all the dosh through wheeling and dealing and broadcasting – someone could make a fortune with blow-up spectator dolls…..

    March 31, 2009
    Reply
  7. ROSHAN said:

    99% of IPL fans watch da show over TV and even if modi can’t get many crowds in SA,it won’t seriously affect the IPL.whatever you think of Lalit Modi, one should admire his work.he shifted da IPL within a few days to another country easily.If only our cricket board had the brains to shift da SA series to UAE in 2006, srilanka would not have lost US$ 11 million. see sanga’s interview, cricket is a business today, we need lalit modis and I.S bindras if we want to develop cricket in srilanka

    April 1, 2009
    Reply
  8. Amy said:

    @chinaman – I’m entirely confused as to why that is. A few other people have commented using the Name/URL profile. It must be a silly technical error.

    @damiths – And then we’d expect a tantrum of epic proportions.

    April 1, 2009
    Reply

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