How the ILT20 is building a global brand

In Dubai, last Sunday, from my vantage point overlooking the parking area for coaches carrying spectators to ILT20 matches, it was apparent that there were more coaches than normal. They began arriving around 2 p.m., continuing in a steady stream lasting close to three hours. The match which they had come to watch was between the Dubai Capitals and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.

These teams occupied the bottom two spots in the ILT20 table. Defeat for the Knight Riders would mean elimination from the competition, whereas the position of the Dubai Capitals was less precarious. The team had two matches remaining in which to secure a top four finish and a place in the playoffs.

In 2024, the Capitals had shown an ability of putting together a late flourish. Then, after eight out of 10 matches in the group stage, it was bottom of the table. Victories in the last two matches, followed by two in the playoff matches, propelled the Capitals to the final. This was despite David Warner returning to Australia to join the national squad, with Sam Billings taking over as captain.

This year the pair arrived late, having played in the final of Australia’s Big Bash League for Sydney Thunders. Warner’s impact against the Knight Riders was immediate. After an uncertain start he adapted to the conditions, batting throughout the innings for 93 in a total of 217 for four. The substitute rule in ILT20 meant that he could recover from his exertions by not fielding. Faced with a daunting target, the Knight Riders set about their task enthusiastically, reaching 96 without loss in 10 overs.

This entertained the almost capacity crowd but not Billings, whose captaincy skills were being tested. Two wickets in two balls brought relief for him, the Knight Riders faltering to lose by 26 runs. Consequently, the Capitals progressed to the playoffs. Even more remarkably, they negotiated these to reach the final via a tense last ball victory against the table-topping Desert Vipers.

There were few people in the stadium to savor this result. One of the stadium’s drawbacks is its lack of connection or even proximity to the metro. This, along with a lack of a cricket-watching hinterland, creates a significant marketing challenge. In recognition of this, the tournament’s management has worked hard to generate interest within the local community and mobilize it through the busing-in policy. It also knows that it needs to be prepared to try out innovative measures.

One eye-catching initiative has been the deployment of a social media influencer, Dolly Chaiwala, for three matches. The Indian, a tea seller from Nagpur, real name Sunil Patel, runs his dolly_ki_tapri_nagpur page on Instagram, which showcases his distinctive style of making tea. Early in 2024, in a scarcely believable moment of serendipity, he was catapulted into a social media frenzy. None other than Bill Gates approached his tea stall. They were pictured side by side, Gates with a glass of tea in hand.

The picture went viral, accompanied by wild speculation that the Nagpur tea seller was to become a brand ambassador for Microsoft. This speculation was fanned following a post by the Bindu Times, a satirical news parody account on Instagram. The account carried an “only for satire” purposes disclaimer, which seemed to escape the attention of readers. Their oversight has done wonders for Dolly’s exposure and, indeed, his whole life. His Instagram site has now achieved a following of some 4.5 million viewers and he is in high demand.

At one of the ILT20 matches in Abu Dhabi queues of people waited to meet him. In Dubai, former Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar met Dolly before a match between the Gulf Giants and MI Emirates. As a former professor in marketing communications, I have observed the extraordinary developments in communications channels over the last decade in amazement. Yet, the spine of marketing remains the same — identify and know the target market, design an appropriate message, select the correct channel(s) of communication, budget accordingly, set realistic, desired, outcomes and monitor performance. All of this must be geared to building or sustaining a brand.

ILT20 is in the process of building a brand. It has a stable name sponsor in DP World. In 2024, it was the second most-watched T20 cricket league globally, with a total of 348 million unique viewers, of whom 63 percent were from India. Almost half of viewers were women and 55 percent were categorized as youth viewership. This Indo-centric appeal, despite no Indian players being part of the franchise teams, is likely to have been enhanced this year by the presence of Dolly Chaiwala.

If generating and sustaining audiences for ILT20 presents a challenge, then the next big event to occur in the UAE and, specifically, Dubai, offers challenges at the other end of the scale. As previously highlighted in this column, India’s matches in the International Cricket Council Challenge Trophy will be played in Dubai. This includes the clash between Pakistan and India on Feb. 23. Tickets went on sale online on Feb. 3. Unsurprisingly, they sold out within an hour. There is no stadium in the world large enough to cater for the demand for such a match and it needs no marketing.

However, the match poses a unique set of operational challenges. The Pakistan Cricket Board is the official country host of the tournament, the ICC is the organizer and administrative body, whilst the Dubai International Stadium is owned by Dubai Properties and tenanted by the Emirates Cricket Board.

All parties must work together to manage the hosting of both this match and the others involving India in the Champions Trophy. Whilst other major ICC tournaments have been held in the UAE in the past, this one has the added dimension of Pakistan as official host. Furthermore, those within the ECB are having to juggle their part in the organization of the Champions Trophy with the ongoing hosting of ILT20, which concludes on Feb. 9. These are hectic times for cricket in the UAE, but additional exposure can only be good for ILT20’s image.