Who said cricket is only for professional athletes? Welcome to the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), where the silver screen meets the cricket pitch, and the result is nothing short of spectacular. It’s a phenomenon that’s outpacing traditional sports leagues in India. It’s happening, all thanks to the star power of Indian cinema. With a viewership that could make the Indian Super League blush, it’s time to ask: Is the CCL the next big thing in Indian sports?
Celebrity Cricket League in number
- CCL is growing faster than Indian Premier League at 50%, surpassing IPL’s year-on-year growth of 18%.
- It earns 39% more from gate revenue than ISL and 25% more than PKL.
- In terms of viewership, CCL is ahead of ISL with 15 crore.
| League | Viewership | Gate Revenue | Y-o-Y growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPL | 60 Cr | 6 Cr | 18% |
| WPL | 18 Cr | 30 Lakh | 35% |
| PKL | 20 Cr | 20 Lakh | 12% |
| CCL | 15 Cr | 25 Lakh | 50% |
| ISL | 12.5 Cr | 18 Lakh | 8% |
More popular than PKL & ISL?
Before the introduction of the Women’s Premier League, PKL enjoyed great success. It was India’s second-most popular league after IPL. However, things have changed. In terms of viewership, while IPL dwarfs all, CCL is managing to carve a niche. IPL has an annual viewership of 60 Crore while CCL is 4th with 15 Crore. PKL remains the most-watched sporting league after IPL with 20 crore viewership. ISL falls flat with just 12.5 crore annual viewership as per a report on RevSportz.
In terms of Gate Revenue, CCL now earns Rs 25 lakh per match in a 19-match tournament. While PKL could earn a lot more because of the number of matches, CCL is ahead of per-match gate revenue. PKL and ISL earn 20 and 18 lakh, respectively per match. A reminder, it is not a sporting league by professional athletes.
Cricketing icon @YUVSTRONG12 joined the Mumbai Heroes press meet in Delhi, sharing his best wishes for the success of A23 CCL 2025!
— CCL (@ccl) January 17, 2025Here’s to a spectacular season of cricket and entertainment like never before! #A23CCL @A23_Rummy @ManojTiwariMP @SohailKhan#CCL2025… pic.twitter.com/7EdHHLX8UC
Growing faster than IPL
In the post-pandemic economics, CCL has stunned all. It is now the fastest-growing Indian sports league with 50% year-on-year growth compared, surpassing IPL. The Indian Premier League is growing at 18% year-on-year. WPL is second behind CCL with a 35% year-on-year growth.
Pro Kabaddi League has also slowed down since its introduction in 2014 with just 12% y-o-y. Indian Super League is the slowest in terms of growth at 8% y-o-y.
Why is CCL popular?
Superstardom
Even though it is not a league by professional athletes, the actors have massive fan bases. Actors have god-like stature in southern states of India. Driven by actors in the South Indian cinema industry, CCL topped TRP charts during Jan-Feb in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The Bhojpuri movie stars make the playing field equal in terms of popularity too. Bhojpuri movie star Manoj Tiwari is a hugely popular figure in the league. The 53-year-old Bhojpuri movie star is an all-rounder and has enthralled fans with his batting skills as well as bowling abilities in the league.
Unique format
The brains behind Celebrity Cricket League understand that carrying out a 20-over cricket match could be demanding on the non-athlete actors. Hence, they introduced a unique format. The 20-over innings is divided into two halves of 10 each. While it’s still a 20-over-a-side match, it is not as physically demanding as the actors bat for 10 overs and then bowl for 10 overs and then repeat.
The team batting first will bat for 10 overs. In Test cricket fashion, the chasing team can take a lead if they surpass the score of the team batting first. The team that batted first will have a final chance of setting a target for the chasing team. In all, it keeps the audience engaged and some quick scores make the matches more interesting.
Strong social media presence
Most of the actors have a massive follower base on social media. When the fans see their stars perform well, they become topics of discussion on social media platforms. CCL 2024 had a peak reach of 5.7 million alone in January. With CCL 2025 starting on Jan 31, it can break the previous record.
Conclusion
The Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) has been able to merge sports and entertainment. Launched in 2011, the league which features teams composed of film actors from various regional film industries, including Bollywood, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Bengali cinema, has become a popular league.
The innovative format has garnered significant popularity, creating a platform where fans can see their favourite celebrities play cricket. It offers fans an opportunity to see their favourite stars compete on the field. As it continues to grow and evolve, CCL remains a significant part of India’s vibrant sports landscape.
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