Growth and prospects
The Twenty20 format brings persistence and prosperity to the flawed game. This new format has created compelling domestic tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has become a profitable venture. Surprisingly as it seems, IPL’s brand value itself is in excess of 4 billion US dollars. Having enjoyed IPL, there are several other tournaments that generate good revenue.
Outside of Asia and Europe, the booming popularity of cricket in Africa has an advantage over basketball. Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa have a sizable population of passionate game enthusiasts. Another factor that underpins cricket’s case is the strong base of the Caribbean game. In light of the presence of cricket on most continents, it is safe to assume there is room for growth.
Cricket’s passionate followers are mostly hail from the Third World, a major obstacle to its growth. Unlike the subtlety of much of North America and Europe, the third world has a lot to catch up to. In contrast to cricket, basketball and soccer owe a lot of their popularity to the internet. A good percentage of the population watching cricket is not on par with technological developments, which is posing a problem for the development of the sport. This is due to changes in the near future.
Besides the monetary aspects, cricket is not shy of any other game in terms of viewership. It is not uncommon to see empty streets in India and Pakistan during high voltage cricket matches. Perhaps, a commitment like that is what keeps the sport alive and kicking. As long as that devotion holds, cricket will never stop growing – with or without the rest of the world.
Because of these reasons, it is easy to understand why so many people of all ages love this sport. Maybe it’s cricket is one of the leading sports in the world along with football, basketball, etc.
