Want to enhance fan experience? Start off with a better refund policy

The Karnataka State Cricket Association came up with a nice gesture to refund 50 per cent of ticket value following the abandonment of the fifth and final T20I between India and South Africa at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

A capacity crowd had to retreat in disappointment as a steady drizzle forced the match officials to call off the proceedings, which lasted just 16 minutes and 3.3 overs. About an hour later, the KSCA announced through a media release that valid ticket holders would be eligible for 50 per cent refund, even though one of the terms and conditions on the back of the ticket states, "Refunds will be made only if the match is cancelled without a single ball being bowled. There is no obligation on the Organiser/ Association to reschedule the match."

While one might argue that there was no obligation on the part of the host association to do so, there is a general feeling that the KSCA could have refunded the entire cover price of the ticket, given it's the fans that make cricket what it is in India.

Recently, even BCCI secretary Jay Shah had spoken about improving "fan experience". Soon after selling the IPL media rights for nearly Rs 50,000 crore, Shah had tweeted, "Now, it’s time for our state associations, IPL Franchises to work together with the IPL to enhance the fan experience and ensure that our biggest stakeholder – ‘the cricket fan’ is well looked after and enjoys high quality cricket in world-class facilities."

Well, framing a better refund policy will be a good starting point.

It's not only the KSCA that follows a full-refund policy in case a match is called off without a ball being bowled. All the associations in the country apply the same norm, including for the Indian Premier League matches. But how does their refund policy compare with other major cricketing countries? The England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia, for example, are far more considerate of their patrons -- that's how they refer to fans as -- in the event of a match being abandoned.

In England, if an ODI is called off 15 overs into the game or less, fans are eligible for a full refund. In case 30 overs are completed, they get a 50% refund. Similarly, in Australia, a full refund is made if less than 15 overs are bowled in a one-dayer and less than six in a T20I.

While stating that in future, they would look at increasing the play time from one ball to 10 overs, the minimum number of overs needed to constitute a T20 match, KSCA treasurer and spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya explained the rationale behind refunding only 50 per cent of the ticket money.

"We are not getting any insurance money for this match because the policy for us also is the same - if a single ball is bowled, there is no insurance cover," he pointed out. "Besides, we had already spent on police security, food and beverages. That's a lot of money and all that expenditure is on us."

Further dwelling on the complications with regard to insuring a match, he went on: "The premium and the willingness of the insurance company to insure a match depends on the weather. Sometimes, they flatly decline and if there's a 50 per cent chance of rain, the premium amounts will be a lot higher than normal. We have started with a 50 per cent refund now, and hopefully in future, we can work out a more spectator-friendly module."

While these are valid reasons, for a Board (BCCI) whose central revenue pool may top Rs 60,000 crore for the next five-year cycle, thanks to the mega IPL media rights' deal, it shouldn’t be too big a burden to come up with a more acceptable refund policy.

Currently, state associations earn more than 50 per cent of their revenue from a match through gate collections, while the BCCI pays a grant of Rs 1.5 crore for hosting expenses. In the event of cancellations, which are few and far between, the BCCI can compensate host associations in order to encourage them to be more generous with terms and conditions of refund.