There is still speculation as to whether the 2020 IPL will take place or not take place this year. With the Indian cricket team still in limbo and no chances of net sessions taking place anytime soon, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) has decided its best to get their players to put on their thinking caps and put their mind to work.
Complimentary Sports Marketing Course For Cricketers
The NCA spearheaded the move and worked together with the BCCI and got permission to offer their players a complimentary course on sports marketing. This course is a certification program that comes from Deakin University & Deakin Co which is based in Australia. The NCA will prepare a list of players who are keen on taking the course and based on their performance will decide on the next batch of players.
RR has also spoken to the BCCI about implementing the same course for their franchise players. The focus will be to help cricketers prepare for life after cricket and equip them with other skills so that they don’t have to live only off the income they made from playing cricket.
RR COO Jake Lush McCrum said the franchise was delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to both their current and ex-players. McCrum said cricketers will now be able to take advantage of their downtime and study and equip themselves with new skills. This will also enable them to contribute to the sports industry once they come to the end of their cricketing careers.
Fringe Players Will Benefit From Marketing Course
The course may not be a big benefit for some of the big name players in Indian cricket and the RR as they make millions each year and have lots of money and investment stored away for their retirement. However, the fringe players will benefit significantly from the opportunity as they get to be certified by an international institution and develop skills that will enable them to foster their passion of sports and give back to the sporting community later.
New Zealand leggie Ish Sodhi is one of the cricketers who has already completed the sports marketing course. He will provide guidance and feedback on the course to RR players. Some of the other players who are in the middle of taking this course include England’s Jos Butler and Indian seamers Varun Aaron and Jaydev Unadkat.
Life After Cricket Not Easy
Indian cricketers who make it big in IPL or have success representing India will not have problems financially. However, the majority of Indian cricketers fail to achieve this milestone and at best shine for a few years on the domestic circuit or play IPL cricket for a few years.
The large majority of domestic cricketers tend to work full time jobs just to support themselves and their families. Joginder Sharma, who represented India in the T20 World Cup in 2007, is one such example. He quickly faded from the scene and had to take up a job in the police force. He now serves as a DCP in the Haryana Police department.
The general preference among retired cricketers is to continue to serve the sport in some capacity. Former fast bowler J Srinath took up a job as a match referee, V Prasad took up a role as a bowling coach and Robin Singh became a fielding coach.
NCA players and RR players will be inspired to take this course by watching the likes of Jos Butler and Ish Sodhi go through the ropes. We will have to wait and see if other IPL franchises follow in the footsteps of RR and adopt the same course or try out different educational programs.
