IMD-7-1947

08.03.2018

IMD952

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: REBUILDING A TAINTED BRAND

Professor Ajay Kohli at Georgia All eyes were on Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two-time champions
Institute of Technology, Atlanta; of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the cash-rich cricket league. How
Associate Professor Sandeep was it planning to re-enter the fray in 2018 after a two-year suspension?
Puri at Asian Institute of The fallen-from-grace CSK had the uphill task of rebuilding the brand,
Management, Manila; Siddhant and restoring its former glory following its suspension from the IPL in
Puri; and Arup Lekh prepared July 2015. In September 2016, the Board of Cricket Control in India
this case under the supervision (BCCI)i refunded 30% of franchise fees of ₹114 millionii paid for IPL
of IMD Professor Goutam 2016 by the suspended franchisee CSK. The champion team had been
Challagalla as a basis for class suspended because of the betting-related activities of its key official
discussion rather than to Gurunath Meiyappan.1 Former High Court Judge Mukul Mudgal, who
illustrate either effective or was part of a three-member investigation panel that conducted an
ineffective handling of a independent probe into the corruption allegations, called the verdict a
business situation. “temporary setback” for the IPL. “I’m sorry, but if the franchisee is
banned, how can the team escape? So this has to happen,” he said. He
reasoned that the team had to be sacrificed because of the franchisee’s
wrongdoings and to send a strong message and warning across the entire
length and breadth of the league that it was best to stay away from such
disgraceful activities. He said it was important to remember that at its
heart, the league was about the game of cricket, and the suspension was
to dispel the myth that all matches were fixed. He assured that this stern
decision was for the good of the game and the long-term benefit of the
IPL as well as to restore people’s faith in the both the IPL and the game
itself.2

At the time of its suspension, CSK was the most successful IPL team,
but the match-fixing, betting controversy and the resulting lawsuit in the
Supreme Court hit its brand value. CSK’s value slipped from US$72
million in 2014 to $67 million in 2015.3 The ban forced its core players
to be auctioned along with other players, resulting in CSK captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni moving on to become the captain of Rising Pune
Supergiants and Suresh Raina the captain of Gujarat Lions.4 Other star
players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo
also joined other league teams.

Copyright © 2018 by IMD - International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne,

Switzerland (www.imd.org). No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of IMD.

i
BCCI is the national governing body for cricket in India. As a member of the ICC, it has the authority to select
players, umpires and officials to participate in international events and exercises total control over them. Without
its recognition, no competitive cricket involving BCCI-contracted Indian players can be hosted within or outside
the country.
ii
₹68.1 = $1 as of January 26, 2017.
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 -2- IMD-7-1947

Inspired by the success of the 2008-launched IPL, as many as seven sports leagues had
emerged on the Indian scene since 2013, starting with the Hockey India League (hockey),
Indian Super League (football/soccer), Premier Badminton League (badminton), Pro-Kabaddi
League (kabaddi), Champions Tennis League (tennis), Pro-Wrestling League (wrestling) and
even a Premier Futsal league. Other leagues in motor sports, athletics and boxing were
proposed. The emergence of new sports leagues and the commendable performance of Indian
sportspersons in games other than cricket were likely to leave IPL fighting to attract an
audience. Under these circumstances, industry observers felt that the return of CSK in 2018
was a challenge in itself. Questions abounded: What strategies could CSK’s management
adopt to rebuild the brand? Should it hire more star players to jumpstart the process? What
activities should the team engage in to increase fan involvement?

The Chennai Super Kings Team

CSK was the Chennai-based franchisee of the IPL. The team was owned by India Cements
Ltd., which paid $91 million in 2008 to acquire its rights for 10 years. Led by the former
captain of the Indian cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team had former New Zealand
cricket captain Stephen Fleming as coach and Tamil movie star Vijay as brand ambassador. It
had 20 (12 Indian and 8 overseas) players and was the most successful team in the IPL, having
won the title twice in succession (2010 and 2011) and reached the play-offs every season (refer
to Exhibit 1). CSK also won the Champions Leagueiii Twenty20 (T20) in 2010.5
CSK was considered a benchmark of success from the first edition of the IPL because of its
versatile team. Its continued success was also attributed to the stability of the team’s
management and having Dhoni’s instinctive and calm leadership,6 as well as to the retention
of core players. From number 1 to number 11, the players could all change the course of the
game on their own.7 The team colors were yellow and blue and it was sponsored by Gulf Oil,
Aircel, Coromandel King Superior Cement, Kingfisher, 7UP, Ola, Ingene, Sportsmechanics,
UST Global, Shopclues, Spartan, Cricking, and Coromandel Infotech India Limited.8
CSK arguably enjoyed the most loyal fan base among all the IPL teams, which was probably
the reason for its tremendous success in such a short span of time. The team’s social media
accounts on Twitter and Facebook regularly posted information about the team, thereby
connecting with the fans.
Sudio Sudarsan, professor of marketing at Hult International Business School, said:
CSK has built a strong brand name for itself. From a branding perspective, CSK, declared as the
most valuable IPL franchisee (again valued by Brand Finance, London), began to differentiate
itself, and amply benefitted from the high level of identification of power symbols and a sensory
palette of unique visual, verbal, and digital expression.

He added that the word “super” associated with the team’s name was a popular adjective of
people in Tamil Nadu. To them everything from their favorite morning coffee to their favorite
movie star was “super.”9

iii
Champions League Twenty20 involved the best T20 teams from across the world. It was a clash
between the top teams of the India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies, Sri Lanka
and England domestic T20 tournaments. It was jointly owned by BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket
South Africa.

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The Chennai Franchise Ownership

When IPL announced its eight city franchises and their owners, it became evident that a mixed
bag of people would run the show. Some of the owners were not connected to the sport (e.g.,
Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla for Kolkata, Preity Zinta for Punjab, a
newspaper group for Hyderabad, Mukesh Ambani for Mumbai, Vijay Mallya for Bangalore),
and some, like N. Srinivasan, were too close to cricket for comfort. Srinivasan was the
managing director and vice-chairman of India Cements, the owner of the Chennai team, and
also the BCCI treasurer and later BCCI president. However, Lalit Modi, then IPL chairman
and commissioner, shrugged off any conflict of interest issues with Srinivasan at the helm of
both organizations, saying that he was not the owner but rather only a stakeholder.10
India Cements bought the Chennai franchise for $91 million for a period of 10 years, making
it the fourth most expensive IPL team.11 India Cements contracted Dhoni for $1.5 million, the
most expensive player contract of the first season.12
Following the spot-fixing scandal and the Supreme Court ruling13 that board officials could
have no commercial interest in the IPL, India Cements carried out a demerger in which it first
transferred CSK to an exclusively owned subsidiary – Chennai Super Kings Limited (CSKL)
– in February 2015, and later transferred all its stake in CSKL to India Cements Shareholders
Trust in September 2015.1415
There had been no updates on the official CSK website since September 2015, nor any new
revelations about CSK’s ownership, except for a request by a ruling party leader, Subramanian
Swamy, in October 2016, asking for the ban to be lifted on the grounds that the former BCCI
president was the victim of a conspiracy.16

Key CSK Players

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

The wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Dhoni) was the captain of CSK since its
inception in 2008. Dhoni was the only cricket captain to lead his country in all three major
limited over International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament victories (World Cup, Champions
Trophy and World Twenty20). Dhoni was the most successful Indian captain with 27iv
victories from 60 Test matches, 110 wins from 199 one-day international (ODI)v matches and
41 wins from 72 T20 matches.17

Suresh Raina

Another key player for CSK was Suresh Raina, an all-rounder, who became the third batsman
in the world to hit a T20 century. Raina had many firsts to his credit, including becoming the
first Indian batsman to score centuries in all the three formats of the game, the first player to
score 3,000 runs in the IPL, the first and only player to have scored over 400 runs in seven IPL
seasons and the first Indian player (and the second world player) to hit 100 sixes in the IPL.
Raina was also one of the best fielders and held the record for the highest number of catches
(52) in the IPL.18

iv
Test cricket is the longest form of cricket, played over five days, with each side having the opportunity
of batting and bowling twice.
v
One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket between two teams with international
status, in which each team plays fifty overs (six balls).

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Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin proved to be a good all-rounder, he was the fastest cricketer in the
history of Test cricket to have taken 75 wickets and amassed more than 500 runs. 19 He had
taken 100 wickets in the IPL with an economy rate of 6.57 runs per over.20 Ashwin was also
ranked the number 1 player in the ICC all-rounders list.21

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was an all-rounder and a good fielder. He had taken 77 wickets in the IPL
with an economy rate of 7.67 runs per over. He had also scored 1,574 runs in IPL by 2016.22
Jadeja was ranked second in the ICC’s Test ranking for bowlers in 2017.23

Dwayne Bravo

The key overseas player for CSK was Dwayne Bravo, an all-rounder from the West Indies. He
had taken 122 wickets in the IPL with an economy rate of 8.2 runs per over. He had also scored
1,262 runs in IPL by 2016. Bravo’s deadly slow yorkervi has beaten many batsmen. His multi-
dimensional skills prompted the CSK to retain him for the seventh season of the IPL.24

Indian Premier League (IPL)

The Indian Premier League was a professional league for T20 cricket in India, announced in
2008 by Lalit Modi, the first chairman and commissioner of the IPL to counter the Indian
Cricket League (ICL), founded in 2007 and funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises against
the wishes of the BCCI. The BCCI gave Modi the task of starting a Twenty20 league along
the lines of the English Premier League and the US’s National Basketball League. The IPL
was supervised by BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, who served as the league’s chairman
and commissioner. IPL matches were contested among 10 teams in 2017 with both Indian and
overseas cricket players.25 IPL changed the way cricket was played in India and brought in the
huge scope of the entertainment industry. It worked on a franchise-system, complete with the
hiring and transfer of players. These franchises were put up for auction, in which the highest
bidder won the rights to own the team.26

Corporate honchos, Bollywood stars, cheerleaders and a very short format of the game made
for a revolutionary era in the game of cricket. The inaugural IPL sent crowds into a frenzy
following intense exposure to Bollywood music, between-break dances, players’ rallies, raving
after parties and blitzkrieg marketing. Cricketainment was born.27 IPL became an instant hit
and many innovations, like cheer girls applauding every boundary, six and the fall of a wicket,
were introduced.28

Format of IPL

The players of each IPL team were bought at auction by the franchise that made the highest bid.
Each franchise had a maximum limit of $5 million to spend on players, and the contract for each
player was for three years. The players had a “base annual fee,” which was paid on a pro-rata
basis. IPL teams were required to have a minimum of 16 players and at least four of these had to
be under the age of 22. There was a cap of eight foreign players per team (raised to 10 in 2009)
and a maximum of four foreign players could be part of the playing XI in any match. Each team

vi
A yorker is a ball that hits the cricket pitch around the batsman’s feet.

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played against another team twice in the tournament, once at home and once away. Thus, if there
were eight teams, each one would play a total of 14 matches. The top four teams qualified for
the semi-finals, and the winners of the semi-finals clashed in the IPL finals. Thus, the complete
tournament consisted of a total of 56 matches.29

The governing body of the IPL generated revenue by auctioning the broadcasting rights, title
sponsorship, and corporate sponsorship, sale of tickets, auction of franchisee rights and official
umpires’ sponsorships. The sources of revenue for an IPL franchisee were a share of the
income from the broadcasting rights (equal share for all franchisees after IPL’s share); a share
of the sponsorship money (60% of the amount distributed equally); a share in the income from
ticket sales; income from in-stadium advertising; and the sale of players to other franchisees;
in addition to income from its own sponsorship and corporate sponsorship.30

The better a team performed in the League, the greater the likelihood of higher earnings,
increased sponsorship opportunities and good brand image. A team’s performance also served
as a financial incentive for the franchisee and the players. The total prize money pool for the
2016 IPL season was around ₹470 million; the winners received around ₹200 million, the
losing finalists got ₹110 million, and the other two teams in the play-offs got around ₹75
million each. The prize money was shared equally by a franchisee and its players. Thus, the
winning team’s ₹200 million was divided into two parts: ₹100 million for the franchisee and
the rest distributed equally among the players.31

Teams in IPL

There were 10 teams in IPL in 2016 but only 8 played because of the suspension of CSK and
Rajasthan Royals for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.32 These teams were Delhi Daredevils,
Gujarat Lions, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rising Pune
Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrisers Hyderabad (refer to Exhibit 2).
These were all old IPL teams with the exception of Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants,
which were included after the suspension of CSK and Rajasthan Royals, the majority of whose
players went to the two new teams. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, ex-captain of CSK became the
captain of Rising Pune Supergiants and Suresh Raina, another key CSK player, became the
captain of Gujarat Lions.33

The Changing Sports Industry in India

The sports industry was considered to be one of the largest industries internationally in terms
of employment and revenue. Globally, it was estimated to be worth between $480 and $620
billion. The sports industry in India was growing rapidly, climbing from ₹43.7 billion in 2013
to ₹48 billion in 2015 with the emergence of new sporting leagues. According to CVL Srinivas,
CEO of GroupM South Asia, India had progressed from a single-sport to a multi-sport country
and was on the cusp of a sporting business boom.34
The emergence of new leagues like the Indian Premier League, Hockey India League, Indian
Badminton League, Pro Kabbadi League, Indian Super League, Indian Wrestling League, and
the professionalization of heritage sports events were changing the face of Indian sports. The
growth and development of the Indian sports industry was creating opportunities for
management professionals in a wide variety of settings. Boosted by initiatives such as
professional leagues of developed sports, commercialization of underdeveloped sports, the
professionalization of heritage sports and increased corporate sector investments, faster growth
in the sports industry was imminent. It had the potential to overtake information technology
and related industries before 2020.35

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Sport in India was traditionally a government-led initiative. The private sector participated
through corporate sustainable responsibility/non-profit channels, a public–private partnership
model in sports infrastructure development, and for-profit sports academies. Sports leagues
emerged as a primary vehicle for the private sector. Impressive growth in the viewership of sports
other than cricket provided an indication of the potential for India to be a multiple sports nation.
Key trends driving the sports market were: increasing online consumption of sports; increasing
viewership, sponsorship, and participation in sports other than cricket; growth in rural
viewership; engaging fans through social media; growing female viewership; and a rising
number of sports start-ups. Sports consumption in India was on the rise with leagues as well
international sports garnering strong support across multiple platforms (TV, in-stadium and
the internet). Corporations looked to sports to build brands mainly because of their ability to
attract a large number of viewers simultaneously. For example, a leading digital wallet and e-
commerce player committed ₹5 billion to the sports category over 2015-2019 and was likely
to focus on upcoming leagues in the country.36
The emergence of new sports leagues backed by celebrity owners and corporate big-wigs had
the potential to shift cricket fans to other games. During the inaugural season of the Pro
Kabaddi League, 430 million viewers tuned in to watch the matches on television, second only
to the IPL’s 552 million in 2015. Kabaddi’s ability to borrow skills from other sports helped
to broaden its appeal. In South Korea, Kabaddi was a natural extension of judo and taekwondo.
Iran was the second-best team in the world.37

Sports Consumption in India

Sports consumption in India was rising, with leagues and international sports garnering strong
support across multiple platforms. Consumption of sports content in the digital form was also
rising in India, as increasing mobile penetration and drops in internet tariffs enabled consumers
to remain constantly connected to action. Star India, which had the digital rights of the IPL until
2017, had claimed that Hotstar, its over-the-top (OTT) video player, had seen high viewership
and engagement on the internet. Cricbuzz (The Times of India group) logged a 40% jump in its
viewership in IPL 9. Its users consumed as many as 30 billion page views, spending more than
24 billion minutes on the platform. According to Lakshmi Narasimhan, chief growth officer at
the media agency GroupM South Asia, live sports content was a good medium to acquire viewers
since consumers could watch content on OTT platforms through internet-connected devices at all
times, even when on the move. The Hotstar app helped IPL viewers catch up on matches when
traveling. Over 60% of the digital population was in the 13- to 35-year age bracket, the same age
as the target for T20 cricket, which helped increase the consumption of sports across digital
platforms.38
Facebook was the most popular social network used to follow sports news, followed by
YouTube, Google and Twitter. Live streaming was the most popularly consumed sports
content in India. Fans loved sharing the content that their teams and sports journalists shared.39
A report published by Entertainment & Sports Partnerships Properties India in 2017 expected
a greater focus on grassroots programs for emerging sports and talent to boost new categories
for corporate investments in sports.40

Sports Fans

For consumers, most goods and services were things of economic value, whereas for sports
fans attending sporting events was of emotional value. A fan was “an ardent devotee; an
enthusiast.” Building a strong fan base, not a customer base, was the key difference between
sports marketing and marketing of most goods and services.41 IPL was a classic example of a

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great brand-building exercise. It tapped into the fan’s emotion by mixing Bollywood with
cricket.42 Fans derived satisfaction when their teams were successful. But, they also valued
long-term identification with their respective teams, independent of the teams’ success. This
identification led them to experience feelings of delight and dismay as their teams went about
competing. Effective sports marketing thrived on creating strong fan identification. Fan
identification was a deeper psychological affiliation, and the basis for a fan’s self-esteem and
self-worth.43 Loyal sports fans resisted the temptation to switch to a “more successful” team
during a losing season, or adopt a new “favorite” player when their current favorite was down
on form.44 Loyalty and engagement benefits extended beyond stadium attendance numbers.
For major league sports like IPL, loyalty and engagement correlated very highly with TV
viewership and purchase of licensed merchandise.45

IPL Betting Scandal

In July 2015, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, who had won three of the eight
tournaments from 2008-2015 (refer to Exhibit 3), were found guilty of illegal betting and
match-fixing. Justice RM Lodha also banned Meiyappan, a former team official of CSK, and
Raj Kundra, a former Rajasthan Royals co-owner, from any involvement in cricket matches
for life. Lodha said, “Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an
extent that doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not.” Lodha added that
Raj Kundra’s position with the Rajasthan Royals franchise as part owner and team official
“brought the game, BCCI, and IPL into disrepute.” He also stated that Meiyappan, by virtue
of being the son-in-law of N Srinivasan, the managing director of India Cements, also
represented CSK, and that his actions to change the course of matches also tarnished the BCCI
and the game.46
The IPL controversy started on May 16, 2013 with the arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players
for match-fixing. The Delhi Police also arrested 11 bookies. Rajasthan Royals later suspended
their players, forcing the BCCI to set up an inquiry into the allegations. The board also
announced enhanced anti-corruption measures. The arrests started a nationwide search and
arrest of bookmakers because betting was illegal in India. One of those picked up was a small-
time actor, Virender Dara Singh, arrested on charges of links with bookmakers. His testament
led the police to arrest Meiyappan. Delhi Police eventually chargesheeted the players under
sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.47

Fans’ Reactions to the Ban on CSK

CSK was the most popular team in India. One ardent fan, a 27-year-old analyst based in
Bangalore, felt that the team represented two of his favorite things – Chennai and cricket.
He had built such a strong emotional connection with the team, which was heightened with
each victory, that the ban made him feel he had lost something dear to him. Even fans who
previously had no particular affinity for IPL felt such a sense of loss they became totally
uninterested in the game. For some fans, CSK was close to their hearts simply because of
their love for the city – the team not only represented their city but also raised its stature
with repeated victories. Now, they found no reason to follow IPL; if CSK’s star players left
for other teams, the Chennai fans would lose their interest.48
Another fan, a 25-year-old human resource executive, felt a strong connection with the CSK
players. Players like Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravichandran Ashwin almost felt like family,
and the break-up of the team was her worst nightmare. The deafening roar that followed Dhoni
every time he walked into the stadium and the team’s anthem “whistle podu,” a Tamil folk
song, became history when the ban was imposed. For these fans, the emotional connection

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with the team and its players was so strong, they even hoped that their star players would not
go on to play for other teams. Although two years was not a long time, to them it felt like a
permanent ban. Some fans thought it was best for the owners to change their mindset and not
let their fans down. For these fans, IPL meant nothing without CSK.49

Other Scandals in Sports

Olympics Scandals

Both Olympic athletes and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) committee were party
to numerous scandals over the years.50 The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic chief was arrested in
October 2017 for accepting bribes.51 The organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympics were also
accused of paying bribes to win the games.52 Similarly, several members of the IOC were
expelled for taking bribes from the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee in 1998 during the
bidding process for the Winter Olympics, and the Olympic Committee subsequently adopted
new IOC rules. The US Department of Justice started a legal process against the leaders of Salt
Lake’s bid committee, but all parties were acquitted. It also began investigations into prior
bidding processes by other cities and found that many IOC members received gifts during the
process for both the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics.53

Cricket Match-fixing Scandal

In April 2000, many South African cricket players, including Hansie Cronje, the then-captain
of the national team, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom, were accused of
match-fixing during the tour to India. In June 2000, Cronje revealed his contact with
bookmakers. Cronje was in touch with Mukesh Gupta, who gave him $30,000 to influence the
other South African cricketers to lose wickets on the last day to lose the match.54

Lance Armstrong Doping Scandal

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France, the annual multiple-stage cycle race, for seven
consecutive years between 1999 and 2005. He regularly denied accusations of doping. In 2012,
he was disqualified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency from the races and banned from
competitive cycling for life. He was also stripped of all his Tour de France titles.55

Way Forward for Chennai Super Kings

After the 2015 ban, the CSK players, who had been contracted for several years with the team,
were auctioned by the BCCI. With the team disbanded and newer sports leagues emerging
rapidly across India, IPL itself faced a tough battle to remain a favorite among viewers and
fans. Srinivasan himself was confident of CSK’s return56 to IPL “without intervention” in
2018, and confirmed that the team would have a draft system instead of a players’ auction.
However, the negative response of former CSK star Ashwin to a fan’s question in September
2016 on the possibility of a CSK reunion in 201857 left lingering doubts about its future.

Many wondered what strategies CSK’s management should adopt to rebuild the tainted brand.
Should it hire more star players to jumpstart the rebuilding effort? What factors might
jeopardize the successful relaunch of CSK? What activities should the team engage in to
increase fan involvement?

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Exhibit 1
Performance of Chennai Super Kings in IPL (2008-2015)

Year Rank
2008 Runner-up
2009 Semi-finalist
2010 Winner
2011 Winner
2012 Runner-up
2013 Runner-up
2014 Third
2015 Runner-up

Source: “Chennai Super Kings.” CricTotal, assessed on January 26, 2017.

http://ipl.india.crictotal.com/teams/chennai-super-kings.php

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Exhibit 2
IPL Teams in 2017

Money Spent** Total Players International

Team Owner (₹ in millions) in Team Players
Delhi Daredevils GMR Sports Private Limited 445 18 5
Kings XI Punjab KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited 427 19 5
Kolkata Knight Riders Knight Riders Sports Private Limited 463 14 4
Mumbai Indians Indiawin Sports Private Limited 544 20 6
Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited 532 20 8
Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN TV Network 451 17 5
Gujarat Lions Intex Technologies 469 16 5
Rising Pune Supergiants RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group 517 16 6
Chennai Super Kings * India Cements Limited * * *
Rajasthan Royals* Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited * * *

Ranchi from Jan 2023 to Jul 2023.

* Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for the IPL season 2016 and 2017
** Money spent to retain and buy players in 2017

Source: Compiled by authors from:

• All Teams, Indian Premier League, assessed on January 26, 2017, http://www.iplt20.com/team
• Amol Karhadkar, Kundra set for Rajasthan Royals exit, February 20, 2015, ESPNcricinfo, assessed on January 30, 2017,
http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/835499.html
• New owners for Chennai Super Kings, February 12, 2015, One India, assessed on January 31, 2017, http://www.oneindia.com/sports/cricket/new-honours-chennai-
super-kings-1651236.html
• Vivo IPL 2017 Auction Schedule, Player List, Team and Venue Details for IPL 10, Vivo IPL 2017, assessed on January 26, 2017,
http://www.vivoipl2017schedule.com/.

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Exhibit 3
Winners/Runners-up of IPL (2008-2016)

Year Winner Runner-up

2008 Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings
2009 Deccan Chargers Royal Challengers Bangalore
2010 Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians
2011 Chennai Super Kings Royal Challengers Bangalore
2012 Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai Super Kings
2013 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings
2014 Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab
2015 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings
2016 Sunrisers Hyderabad Royal Challengers Bangalore

Source: Indian Premier League T20 Cricket – Past Winners List, totalSPORTEK.com, May 5, 2016,
assessed on January 26, 2017, http://www.totalsportek.com/cricket/indian-premier-league-winners/

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43
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49
Ibid.
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Joshua Yaffa. “The Waste and Corruption of Vladimir Putin’s 2014 Winter Olympics.” Bloomberg
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Ibid.
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57
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