“Names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli make a huge difference with their star power”: Jonty Rhodes

 

Jonty Rhodes, co-owner of Rotterdam Dockers (ETPL). Images :X

Jonty Rhodes, co-owner of Rotterdam Dockers (ETPL), spoke about the thought process behind investing in the franchise and his perspective on its potential return on investment. He also shared his thoughts on the viability of 50-over cricket and whether the format has a chance of remaining relevant going forward.

Rhodes spoke about the huge impact of stars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on viewership and the challenge of keeping fans engaged after their era. He also shared his opinion on whether age should be the main factor in deciding when a player should retire.

Boria: When you bought into the team (Rotterdam Dockers-ETPL), what was your thought process?

Jonty: Firstly, it was a business opportunity, and another aspect was adding value to the current crop of players and administrators in the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland.

Boria: Are you sensing a return on investment? And are you seeing cricket becoming part of the sporting ecosystem in Europe, with less dependence on expats?

Jonty: In a nutshell, from an ROI point of view, we know that the grounds are not cricket stadiums. A maximum of 2,000 people is what you can get for us in the Netherlands. Malahide Cricket Ground in Dublin, where we’re playing the second half of the tournament, has a similar capacity. So, overall, they’re not expecting 10,000 people, and hence there isn’t much expectation in terms of ticket sales.

So sponsorship is obviously important for us. Also, in terms of viewership, there are broadcasting rights with JioStar for India. There are no lights or floodlights here in Europe, so double-headers will mostly have an early morning or mid-morning game, followed by a late afternoon game, which coincides with almost prime-time viewing in India. So that’s a big thing for us.

Another thing is sponsorship, because it’s a hard sell when it comes to this market, but that’s another opportunity that we’re looking at.

Boria: Do you reckon bilateral cricket contests and 50-over cricket can coexist with leagues like the IPL, The Hundred, Big Bash League, ETPL, etc.? Or do you think franchise cricket is the way forward?

Jonty: I don’t think it can coexist in the format that it is. There are three formats of cricket and many ICC events, so for all of that to coexist is difficult.

The structure and the way that we play it also needs to evolve to accommodate it. If you look at football, the focus comes to the national team only during the World Cup. Up until then, everybody is aligned with the clubs and franchises.

It’s becoming attractive because it is a business model that’s successful in football. So cricket, slowly but surely, can get there.

If you look at ownership in sports, it is first and foremost a business. So I think the expectation that ICC international cricket can coexist in the scenario of franchise cricket is not going to work out. Bilateral 50-over tournaments will have to take a bit of a back seat unless it’s a World Cup year. And we all just need to evolve with it.

There’ll still be Ranji, there’ll still be state cricket, and there’ll still be Test cricket if you’re looking for the longer format of the game. But we need to understand that sport is now a business and cricket needs to evolve.

Boria: If I take the 2027 Cricket World Cup, the narrative is largely going to be dominated by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But post-2027, I see franchise tournaments becoming more viable. Are you in agreement?

Jonty: I think you’re spot on there. The biggest thing is that the ICC also needs to recognise that there isn’t the appeal that used to be there. And yes, names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli make a massive difference because no other team has standout stars like them who draw the eyeballs that the Indian side does, specifically around those two players.

So, all of us need a reality check and need to think about how we combine it. Because there’s no going back when it comes to these leagues and there will be many other leagues that start.

So the ICC needs to understand that, the way cricket is structured, it needs to change because the game itself has evolved. I was saying it 20 years ago: 50-over cricket would be the one that would be sacrificed because of T20 cricket, which draws in a young crowd and excites people. 50-over cricket is on the verge of not being relevant now.

Boria: There is so much debate about Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the age of retirement. Where do you stand on this? What should be the ultimate decider — age, performance or anything else?

Jonty: The success of the IPL has been a double-edged sword that brings in so many young players. India, with so many leagues around, has a very difficult problem on its hands, and that is the immense number of young talents to give a chance to. It can often feel like, why are these senior players still playing?

But I am all in favour of performance being the deciding factor. Because scoring runs is one thing, but experience is also a major part of what these senior players provide to the team, which young players cannot do because they are already figuring out their own game.

If players are looking after themselves and are scoring on the field, then I guess the answer is simple and obvious.

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(Transcribed by Divyasree De.)

Watch the full interview here

 

The post “Names like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli make a huge difference with their star power”: Jonty Rhodes appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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