Life Beyond Cricket

The sports world is changing and noncricket athletes are the new rising stars. This does not mean cricketers have lost their sheen, but brands and fans have started to look beyond cricket

- Jyotsna Sharma

THERE’S NO DENYING THAT India has always been a cricket-loving nation. But for the past few years, it has been witnessing a breakthrough in non-cricket leagues, which had long been in the offing. There has been a paradigm shift in viewership and brands’ approach, also resulting in the rise of non-cricket sports. While cricket may trigger a visceral attachment, sports such as badminton, boxing, kabaddi, football, and wrestling come with a ‘community’ feel to them. Although cricket is mass, sports like football, kabaddi or badminton are market-specific and help brands engage their captive audience.

According to BARC India’s data for 2018, though cricket was the most-watched sport in the country, soccer gained popularity with a 50 percent rise in viewership, compared to the year before. A major contribution of this surge and the overall rise in the sports viewership was due to the availability of sports in regional languages. FIFA World Cup 2018 was aired in Malayalam and Bangla, thereby engaging football fans in the respective states.

Another trend, which is catching up, is these athletes have started being perceived as celebrities, akin to those in the entertainment sphere. Devoted fans, who want to know everything about their sports heroes -- right from their training regimes to what they eat, their feelings, and even private details of their lives have also made these sports stars the new influencers. Astute sports marketers have taken advantage of this celebrity and merged sporting with fashion, entertainment and lifestyle.