IPL moves out and moves on

In its second year itself, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is up for multiple tests—is it recession-proof, devaluation-proof, politics-proof and now, outsourcing-proof? asks Ashok Malik in Mint.

For the eight franchisees, 2008 saw a rough outflow of Rs75-100 crore per team and an inflow of Rs80 crore, maximum. No team other than actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders is believed to have actually broken even, though it was reported that Rajasthan Royals, the first-year champions, and finalists Chennai Super Kings had done so too. In 2009, the first blow came when the rupee crashed from 40 to a dollar to 50. Franchise royalties—the 10-year payments range from $67 million (around Rs 340 crore) for Rajasthan Royals to $112 million for Mumbai Indians—and player fees (each team was allowed to spend a maximum of $7 million in 2008-09 on contracting cricketers) were denominated in dollars.

It has been a week spent in blabbering to others and listening to their harangue. The IPL debate rages on: on television channels, in newspapers, and in private conversations. The young are stung at the dent India's image has suffered in the world but the judgment on who is to be blamed is not as straightforward as one would have believed, writes Pradeep Magazine in the Hindustan Times.