The lessons of IPL for economic transformation

Anantha Nageswaran in this blogpost:

What economic transformation entails is replicating what the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the me-too mini leagues it has spawned at the state level have done for Indian cricket. Indian cricket team is now facing the good problem of accommodating many talents that the IPL is throwing up.

What did Lalit Modi do? He did not do this for boosting Indian cricket. But, the lesson there is hidden for us to uncover and absorb into public policy.

IPL was the eco-system origin and it spawned many mini state level leagues. Once the eco-system was thus established and it took the first 3-5 years for it to be established, the results began flowing. We have a bunch of talent – all in their late teens or early twenties – that is waiting to take over from the current Indian test cricket or ODI team.

So, all that the government should focus on doing is in creating the ecosystem, through good primary and secondary education. The government’s role thus becomes one of being an enabler, seeding the ground and nurturing it. It also withdraws from areas where it does not have to be present. Then, with luck/divine blessing (that is needed to ensure that we also get a propitious external environment), the results will start to come.

The IPL and the Indian cricket talent is a good example of what sound public policy on economic transformation should be about. It has transformed Indian cricket from third-world to first-world status. It is ‘economic development’ equivalent in cricket.

Who would be Lalit Modi of Indian economy?

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