Kochi IPL team comes a cropper

KOCHI: Billed as having the potential to augment Kochi’s economic growth in a big way, the city’s fling with the cash-rich Indian Premier League has ended. Expectations were high but the returns have been meagre for the host city of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Not only did the IPL franchise and its caravan fail to generate enough revenue, both for itself and the city, the KTK management also came a cropper at building a loyal fan base, so essential for a sporting entity to flourish as a brand. The much-anticipated global branding of Kochi as a sporting,  economic and tourist destination never materialised either.Even as discussions regarding Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s termination (KTK) ring high across the country, the business community in Kochi is clear that a golden opportunity has slipped due to the mismanagement.“The team was never meant to be Kochi’s in the first place,” the Kerala Chamber of Commerce chairman Deepak L Aswani told City Express.“The initial name given to the team (Indi Commandos) itself indicates that. The plan was to start the team in Ahmedabad or Indore. Since neither of it worked out, Kochi became their last resort.” He also came down hard on the marketing strategy adopted by the KTK owners. “There was too much politics involved in the last season and the team was not marketed properly. I believe this is what led to their downfall. Compared to other teams, KTK’s marketing was restricted to a few hoardings. Because of all the politics involved in the management of the team, there was not much attention paid to the marketing of the brand. As a result, Kochi never accepted the team as its own,” he said.However, even while agreeing about mismanagement, others like Kerala Merchants Union general secretary K A Shaji had a different take on the issue.“The lack of profit last year was mainly due to mismanagement. But that is not an excuse to pluck the team out of its home ground after just one year. The team was obviously having teething troubles and things would have improved, given time. Taking the team out will nip the chances of the city’s business community to cash-in on the team,” he said.