Latest news with #IPL18
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First Post
11-08-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Ravichandran Ashwin seeks clarity from Chennai Super Kings on his future at Chepauk amid rumours of an exit
Ravichandran Ashwin faces the prospect of not being included in Chennai Super Kings' retention list ahead of the mini auction for 2026 Indian Premier League after collecting just seven wickets in nine games in his first appearance for the franchise in a decade. read more Ravichandran Ashwin has asked Chennai Super Kings for clarity over his future at the franchise amid reports of the spin legend parting ways with the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions ahead of the next player auction. Ashwin had returned to the Super Kings after a decade earlier this year and made nine appearances in what was a forgettable season for the team, but now finds himself facing the prospect his name not featuring in CSK's retention list ahead of the auction. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to ESPNCricinfo, the veteran off-spinner has said he doesn't mind parting ways with the iconic franchise if he doesn't fit their plans. The development comes at a time when discussions on player trades are gaining traction on social media following the conclusion of a high-octane Test series between England and India. Why Ashwin finds himself facing another exit from CSK Ashwin, who had retired from international cricket in December in the middle of India's tour of Australia, didn't have a great run in the iconic yellow jersey in IPL 18, collecting seven wickets at an average of 40.43 and an economy of 9.13. The last of his nine appearances was against former franchise RR, in which Ashwin collected 2/41 from four overs as the Royals cruised to a six-wicket victory in their chase of 188 with nearly three overs to spare. Despite thrashing Gujarat Titans in their final game of the season, CSK finished at the bottom of the IPL table for the first time in the league's history. The franchise thus is expected to make some tough decisions going forward and 38-year-old Ashwin could be among the players left out ahead of the mini-auction. Ashwin was part of the Super Kings from 2009 to 2015, being a core member of the side that won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 and finished runners-up in each of the next four season barring 2014. The off-spinner would continue playing under MS Dhoni's leadership at Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 after CSK was handed a two-year suspension, but was not picked in the following season and wasn't part of the Super Kings' plans either when they returned to action in 2018. Ashwin would then represent Punjab Kings (2018 and 2019), whom he had captained for one season, as well as Delhi Capitals (2020 and 2021) and Rajasthan Royals (2022-2024). He finally got his CSK homecoming this year after the franchise bought him for Rs 9.75 crore in last year's mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Mint
23-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Massive rise in betting ads: A call for vigilance
With the growing number of advertisements for illegal offshore betting platforms flooding the digital space, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has had to take serious steps to protect consumers. Recognizing the scale and sophistication of these ads, ASCI instituted advanced digital monitoring systems and deployed specialized vigilance teams to detect and report misleading promotions. What these teams uncovered was alarming. Many of these platforms used artificial intelligence to create deepfake videos featuring fabricated testimonials—people claiming they had made so much money from betting that they no longer needed to work. These ads were not only deceptive but dangerously persuasive. In several cases, up to 60 different URLs directed users to the same illegal betting site—an elaborate strategy to bypass detection and takedown measures. Also read: Here's how to navigate complex TDS rules for ads, software subscriptions & more Even more concerning was how such promotions were embedded in seemingly innocent content. Cooking tutorials, lifestyle tips, and other harmless-looking videos were found to contain hidden links—via tickers, hashtags, or even bio links—leading viewers to betting platforms. Major social media platforms, despite their advanced ad systems, struggled to catch and block these ads. This raises a crucial question: Who is responsible for ensuring such illegal and misleading ads don't reach consumers? While ASCI continues to do its part through proactive monitoring, there is a clear need for stronger platform accountability to detect such violations of the law, and prevent such ads from appearing in consumer feeds. ASCI works closely with government regulators to report such breaches of the law, who then take them down; however addressing this at scale remains a challenge. Digital infrastructure growth and smartphone usage, while being critical economic drivers, have facilitated such potentially harmful targeting of consumers. As has the promotion of betting apps by celebrities and social media influencers. A Digital India Foundation report in March said that just four such platforms accounted for 1.6 billion visits in a mere three months. Organic search traffic to these sites was recorded at 184 million visits. Also read: Brands pile in, ads get shorter: IPL 18 rewrites the rules of cricket-time marketing: Report Another recent report, by the think tank Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International, warned about the explosive growth of illegal online gambling platforms, of threats to minors, young adults and national financial integrity. Such platforms, the report said, had estimated annual deposits of about $100 billion and the top 15 illegal platforms logged 5.4 billion visits in FY25. The CUTS report further highlighted that these platforms often bypass basic safeguards such as Know Your Customer and age verification, giving minors and young adults unregulated access to gambling content. Some offshore operators even use tactics like cash-on-delivery, making it easier for minors who may lack digital payment access, to gamble. Such is their reach that in March 2025, one such platform outranked even universally popular sites like and as per reports. ASCI's recently released annual complaints report showed a sharp spike in the rise of illegal offshore betting and gambling ads. From 1,311 in 2023-24 to 3,081 in 2024-25, the number of cases reported more than doubled. ASCI enhanced monitoring resources and set up a special monitoring cell, under an MoU it signed with the federations representing Real Money Games, which are legally permitted and regulated in most states in India. Left unchecked, the gambling platforms can lead to addictive behaviour and financial risks. Additionally, they can expose consumers to risks like cyber attacks and unsafe online environments. Such unregulated activity can even threaten national security by acting as channels for money laundering and terror financing. Also read: From skincare to smartphones: Ads by Apple, Mamaearth, L'Oreal under scrutiny Hence, there is a serious risk for consumers and society. As digital infrastructure and access to it grows, such platforms have the potential to target more consumers who are unaware of their illegality and harmful impacts. Regular monitoring and collaborations between industry, self-regulators and the government will be the key to consumer protection in the days to come. In the long term, a comprehensive regulatory framework that addresses some of the challenges of online gambling will need to be established to provide systemic solutions to this large-scale consumer threat. Manisha Kapoor is chief executive officer and secretary general of the Advertising Standards Council of India.
Economic Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Celebrity presence in IPL 18 ads drops 13%: TAM Sports
ETBrandEquity Among sports figures, M S Dhoni continued to be a reliable face for brands, holding a 17.3% share among all sports celebrity-endorsed ads. The influence of celebrities in television advertising during the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed a notable dip, according to a new report by TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media analysis, based on ad volumes from all live matches of IPL 18, reveals a 13% decline in celebrity-endorsed advertisements compared to the previous season. JioStar is the official TV and digital rights partner of the the overall ratio of celebrity to non-celebrity ads shifted as well. While celebrity endorsements made up 59% of ads in IPL 17, the share dropped to 53% in IPL 18, indicating a strategic diversification by advertisers driven by cost and creative the overall dip, celebrities continued to play a dominant role in advertising strategies. Film actors led the charge, accounting for 50% of the total ad volume, followed by sports personalities at 32%.Together, these two groups represented more than 80% of the total celebrity-endorsed ad space. Shah Rukh Khan maintained his reign as the most prominent celebrity endorser for the second year in a row. His share of ad volumes, however, decreased from 13% in IPL 17 to 8% in IPL 18. He was followed by Ananya Panday (7%), Laksh Lalwani (6%), M S Dhoni (5%), and Ajay Devgan (5%).The top categories included Ecommerce gaming, pan masala, biscuits, corporate-financial institute, and paints. Notably, Sporta Technologies and Parle Biscuits were among the top advertisers leveraging celebrity report also found a shift in the celebrity mix as the number of celebrities featured declined, with over 60 personalities appearing in IPL 18 compared to more than 75 in IPL 17. Sports celebrities saw a steeper fall, dropping from 35 to just over 15 this season. Among sports figures, M S Dhoni continued to be a reliable face for brands, holding a 17.3% share among all sports celebrity-endorsed ads. He was followed by Rohit Sharma, Surya Kumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mohammed Siraj.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Celebrity presence in IPL 18 ads drops 13%: TAM Sports
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The influence of celebrities in television advertising during the 18th season of the Indian Premier League IPL ) witnessed a notable dip, according to a new report by TAM Sports, a division of TAM Media analysis, based on ad volumes from all live matches of IPL 18, reveals a 13% decline in celebrity-endorsed advertisements compared to the previous season. JioStar is the official TV and digital rights partner of the the overall ratio of celebrity to non-celebrity ads shifted as well. While celebrity endorsements made up 59% of ads in IPL 17, the share dropped to 53% in IPL 18, indicating a strategic diversification by advertisers driven by cost and creative the overall dip, celebrities continued to play a dominant role in advertising strategies. Film actors led the charge, accounting for 50% of the total ad volume, followed by sports personalities at 32%.Together, these two groups represented more than 80% of the total celebrity-endorsed ad Rukh Khan maintained his reign as the most prominent celebrity endorser for the second year in a row. His share of ad volumes, however, decreased from 13% in IPL 17 to 8% in IPL 18. He was followed by Ananya Panday (7%), Laksh Lalwani (6%), M S Dhoni (5%), and Ajay Devgan (5%).The top categories included Ecommerce gaming, pan masala, biscuits, corporate-financial institute, and paints. Notably, Sporta Technologies and Parle Biscuits were among the top advertisers leveraging celebrity report also found a shift in the celebrity mix as the number of celebrities featured declined, with over 60 personalities appearing in IPL 18 compared to more than 75 in IPL 17. Sports celebrities saw a steeper fall, dropping from 35 to just over 15 this sports figures, M S Dhoni continued to be a reliable face for brands, holding a 17.3% share among all sports celebrity-endorsed ads. He was followed by Rohit Sharma , Surya Kumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mohammed Siraj.
Mint
16-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
The good, the bad and the ugly of the IPL phenomenon
The Indian Premier League (IPL) for Cricket is the second largest sports league in the world after the American National Football League (NFL). You read that right, second largest in the world! And the IPL is a toddler, only 18 years old, compared to over 125 years of the American Major League Baseball's existence, 100 years of the NFL's and 75 years of Formula One's. The NFL dominates all revenue metrics like total revenue (nearly $20 billion), revenue per team ($600 million) and revenue per match ($67 million). The last of these metrics is considered the most relevant for comparison across geographies and formats, and the IPL comes in second with nearly $17 million per match. Justifying its position as a young league, the IPL has been growing revenue at a compounded annual rate of above 20% compared with about 8-10% for other major sports leagues like the NFL. Also Read: IPL cricket is a fine example of free-market capitalism The Board of Control for Cricket in India, widely known by its four-letter abbreviation BCCI, sits atop the IPL pyramid. It is a tax-exempt organization that oversees this entertainment juggernaut. Like for most major sports leagues around the world, the revenue model is made up of TV and digital rights revenue, central sponsorships, franchise level sponsorship, stadium receipts and merchandise revenue. The BCCI struck a five-year $6 billion deal with Disney/Viacom 18 for TV and digital rights revenue from 2023 through 2027. In addition to this annual $1.2 billion, the Board earns another $100-200 million from central sponsorships. The BCCI shares half of this with the ten franchise teams. So, each franchise team makes about $60 million directly from the Board and another $10 million or so at the franchise level. The BCCI imposes a total salary cap of ₹146 crore ($17 million) for cricketers and if you add about $3 million in miscellaneous expenses, each franchise stands to make a whopping operating profit of about $50 million per season. Also Read: Brands pile in, ads get shorter: IPL 18 rewrites the rules of cricket-time marketing: Report There are many ingredients that make up the magic sauce for the IPL. The demographics of the country naturally lend themselves to a newly introduced short form of the game. A remarkable 40-50% of IPL fans are women (thus dramatically expanding the ad market). Some stars like Virat Kohli have a 'gram' followership (280 million) that is in the league of Kendall Jenner and Taylor Swift. The only sportspersons with a greater following are footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Even though we in India are shocked by the vast sums of money that IPL players are auctioned for; in comparison with other major leagues around the world, IPL's 'talent cost' as a percentage of total revenue is among the lowest. Inevitably, the number of teams and the playing season will expand, perhaps as soon as the next media auction in 2027. By my estimate, over the next ten years or so, media rights for the IPL should roughly be 10 to 12 times the current value of $1.2 billion a year. The BCCI will make a profit each year of over $5 billion. The Board pays no taxes on this profit. Also Read: Mint Explainer: BCCI and media rights - an affair since 1992 A main reason why the IPL has remained exciting in sporting terms is that literally any team can win in a given year. This is enabled by a 'mega auction' every three years, during which all but four players per team have to be released. Each team is required to have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25. Each team can only have a maximum of eight international players. So, the mega auction releases somewhere between 150 and 200 players into the fray. In the intervening years, auctions are held for new players, for international players who elect not to return, and for a few who are released. This unique process ensures that a small group of players fly the franchise flag (such as Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians), but others get thrown in the great pot with any team being able to bid for their services. This ensures that each game remains competitive, which makes any outcome possible. Multi-year dominance by any single team is unlikely; eight different teams have won in 18 years. Also Read: FIFA World Cup 2026: Will US hostility trump its hospitality? That's the good part of the story. A fast-growing, world-scale sporting league with structural elements that will keep it exciting and growing fast. In the early years, the IPL was rocked by 'fixing' scandals rendered worse by the fact that insiders seemed to have the biggest hand in those scandals. Fortunately, large-scale fixing seems to have been eliminated. Informal and international (where sports betting is legal) betting continues, but it appears that insiders are much less involved today. The 'bad' part of the story today comes from the unbridled consumerism that has taken hold, indulging everything from binge drinking to unhealthy eating. The 'ugly' part was visible in Bengaluru with the tragic death of 11 fans and injuries sustained by scores of others during a 'victory party' at the RCB stadium. Officials were hopelessly overwhelmed by the size of the crowds and their apathetic complacency resulted in a needless tragedy. The IPL juggernaut is likely to crush on at its current growth rate for at least a few more years. The BCCI must reallocate some of its astonishing profits and work with cities to move stadiums to zones that are well connected by mass transit and are built to be disaster proof. Planning and systematism will be required everywhere to realize the full potential of the IPL phenomenon. P.S: 'The great wheel of fate rolls on like a juggernaut, and crushes all in turn, some soon, some late," said the writer H. Rider Haggard The author is chairman, InKlude Labs. Read Narayan's Mint columns at
