Indian Premier League (IPL) changed the lives of even unknown cricketers while it turned some cricketers like Paul Valthaty into overnight stars. It has the potential to become the biggest sporting brand in the world in 5-6 years if ICC cooperates with BCCI. These are my suggestions to increase IPL brand value, TV viewership  7 Suggestions for IPL management:  1. Include every player who played at least 1 IPL match in the auction. When ordinary players like Joginder Sharma are in the auction, why not Ambati Rayudu & Paul Valthaty?  2. Increase the number of match avenues to 20. Allot 2-3 games to stadiums in cities likeVisakhapatnam, Cuttack, Guwahati, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Baroda etc. Allot 2 stadiums to each franchisee.  Ex. Chennai Super Kings management should develop another stadium in Tamil Nadu (Madurai / Coimbatore). Deccan Chargers owners should develop another stadium in Vijayawada/Vizag.  Increase in the number of venues will help ticket sales and enhance IPL brand value. Chennai Super Kings should represent Tamil Nadu (not chennai) to get high brand value and fan base.    3. Format: Current format is the best one. No changes are required.  4. Schedule: Conduct every IPL tournament from April 1 – May 31. It is easy for other countries to plan their schedule.  5. Conduct two matches only on weekends and holidays. One match is enough on weekdays.  Conducting two matches on weekends and holidays will help to increase TV ratings and also reduce viewer & player fatigue. To facilitate that, BCCI should increase the number of match days to 60 (April 1 to May 30).  How many people watch an IPL T20 match on a hot summer day that too on the working day?  IPL Match timings:   WeekEvening MatchNight … [Read more...]