The phenomenal success of the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026 tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and played in India and Sri Lanka, provides further proof that management of big events by private, profit-driven enterprises is a far better option than their being managed by government or affiliated organisations. In recent years, the independent BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India, estb.1928) has proved that private initiatives work best by ideating the fantastically successful IPL (Indian Premier League) T20 annual cricket tournament.

Spared the midas-in-reverse attentions of government, thanks mainly to the success of IPL which attracts capacity in-stadia crowds and global television audiences for its innovative quick-fire inter-city T20 cricket matches, BCCI has morphed into the world’s wealthiest cricket administrative board with an annual income ranging between Rs.10,000-18,000 crore, and cash and other reserves aggregating Rs.30,000 crore. As a result, a whole new crop of T20 cricket stars commanding American-style baseball and basketball auction fees of Rs.1-15 crore per season, has mushroomed. These new cricket stars earn unprecedented match fees, five-star hotel and business class travel around the world.

All this is in sharp contrast to bad old days when government appointees dominated BCCI. Cricket stars like Vinoo Mankad, Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar were paid a measly Rs.100 per five-day test match and obliged to share seedy hotel rooms when on tour in India and abroad, while BCCI officials availed themselves of red carpet hospitality. Only after Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricket’s first global icon, raised the banner of revolt in the 1980s demanding better remuneration for players, that cricketers have been awarded the pay and perks they deserve.

There’s a moral in this story: if you want to develop any sport, ignore whingeing lefties and introduce private enterprise, capitalism and money into it.