IPL: A Product Manager's Guide

India is out of Cricket T20 World Cup. So there it goes, the alarm bells and wagging tongues about how BCCI has managed to rot the system or Indian Premier League(IPL) in particular is the root cause of all the problems. People have been cribbing about the timing of IPL and how it has destroyed the core skill set of batters and bowlers. The talk of the town was how IPL has made cricketers money minded and why it should be banned. But is IPL the real culprit? There could be many factors like COVID bio-bubble fatigue, incorrect strategies, no proper execution etc,. IPL as per me is an innovation that has taken cricket a long way.

Cricket was struggling in general to bring fans to the stadium especially Test Cricket. T20 world cup was introduced in 2007 and India's victory changed the tide ever since. IPL was conceptualized though ICL needs to be given due credit. The TRPs and in-person audience skyrocketed since T20 was introduced. It caught the imagination of those sections of audience who were getting bored of cricket or those who were never really interested. New shots, ever changing strategies, new players emerging from nook and corner of the country. IPL literally raised financial might of certain cricketing associations.

Cash flow is not an issue anymore, and this has led to more money being invested on players and grassroot cricket. IPL has also helped players get accustomed to playing in front of huge crowds and handling pressure. Many good players like Bumrah, Rituraj, Rishabh Pant etc have become household names. Isn't there anything else about IPL other than the big bucks? So, what did I learn from IPL or T20's success as a product manager?

1. Customer Needs and Demands: Consumers wanted innovation and sought entertainment . T20 in general and IPL in particular offered it to the public. IPL has captured the imaginations of billions across the world and wait for the mega event year on year. The product catered to the right audience segment and it appealed globally. IPL ensured that cricket stayed relevant to the current market. Outdated products seldom sell and audience lose interest in them sooner.
2. Product Strategy and Execution: Bad design, poor user experience, sloppy implementation, and lack of quality control leads to the failure of the product. IPL introduced strategic timeouts in between the game which even I was frowning upon but the elements added to the break like analysis, hearing team strategies from coaches, etc added more excitement. IPL also learnt from mistakes and ensured that games are played in the right spirit of the game.
3. Slow Execution and Delayed Market Entry: Year 2007, India had just had a pathetic 50-over world cup. The national heroes soon became villains and cricket was detested. But things turn around with 2007 T20 world cup victory. Enter IPL, they believed in the product and positioned it well around the winners of the inaugural World champions. People took to IPL just like how a duck takes to the water. Slow execution and a delayed market entry would have resulted in the product not capturing the excitement amongst the stakeholders and could have become obsolete.
4. Benchmarking and setting a standard: A product should take its cues from its competitors and other products around the world. This gives us an idea on what people around us are implementing, what is working and what is not. IPL took its lessons from other leagues around the world NBA, English Premier League and the current T20 competition in England(inventor of T20). IPL is right now setting standards for other cricket leagues across the world.

IPL or T20 in general has brought audience back to cricket and more nations are taking to the sport like never before. Instead of pointing the fingers at IPL for the failure, a good and constructive team retrospection will help develop the team for the next world cup.