BCCI president Anurag Thakur has written to all the members expressing his anguish about the ‘’frivolous comments’’ against the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it being called an extravaganza.
The Board president stated that, since its inception in 2008, the IPL had grown tremendously and had paid Rs.2,244 crore directly in various taxes over the nine years of its existence. He pointed out that State associations had been paid Rs.2,406 crore from the IPL profits for further development of the game.
Reeling off more figures, Anurag Thakur mentioned that the impact of IPL on the Indian economy was Rs.2,650 crore besides other benefits in terms of employment opportunities. It was pointed out that the IPL’s contribution to the Indian GDP was Rs.1,150 crore.
Moreover, the Board had paid Rs.110 crore to the former cricketers as a one-time benefit, thus aiding those who had not been covered under its platinum jubilee scheme.
The impressive figures apart, it was stressed that IPL was the most watched cricket league globally and the sixth most popular sports league in the world. It was he most sought property by the advertisers and had ‘’attracted fans across genders, age groups, demographics and has a global appeal’’.
Dismissing the general argument that IPL was a platform for the established to consolidate their position and an employment opportunity for the retired cricketers, it was mentioned that 13 cricketers who did very well in the IPL got a chance to play for India.
The Board president said that he was mentioning the hard facts to counter the comments made against the IPL and sought the collective wisdom of the members to decide ‘’whether to stop this extravaganza’’ or not.
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