Rags

Minds can meet even if eyeballs haven't. Eyeballs can't meet if minds don't. I tweet on cricket, current affairs, and sometimes - on etc.!

[Rags @RagsTweets]

An @ndtv @soniandtv interview in 2009 with #GautamGambhir & my tweet is quoted! My only claim to fame out of 20K+ tweets with 600+ !followers. Tweet life seriously wrong with the useless @twitter you’ve purchased Mr @elonmusk - you’ve a task on hand Sir https://t.co/4BKlVT7lVx

[Elias Al @iam_elias1]

A man saw his phone storage was ''full'' after 18 months but he barely had any photos.

He had deleted apps. Cleared messages. Removed downloads. The warning kept coming back every two weeks:

"Storage Almost Full.''

He went to the Apple Store ready to buy a new iPhone.

The employee at the Genius Bar held up a hand: *"Before you spend a thousand dollars, let me show you something."*

She opened Settings → General → iPhone Storage and shook her head.

"There are 7 things eating your storage right now. Apple ships every iPhone with all of them turned on. Nobody tells you they exist. Let's go through them."

Here's what she showed him in the next 8 minutes. 🧵

[Rags @RagsTweets]

Old Man #Jadeja , please beg the #RR management to drop you in next match if #RR qualifies @rajasthanroyals #RRvaSRH #IPL2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

Hopefully the Goenkas will give a #Ferrari to #MitchellMarsh for tonight’s performance #CSKvsLSG #IPL2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

#CSK bowlers are dumb, too many short balls and the hungry wolves at #LSG happily made mincemeat of them #CSKvsLSG #IPL2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

#SRH was getting too way ahead of others. I wanted them to fall behind a bit. #GT has made it happen today #GTvsSRH #ipl2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

Today Jason Holder 11(10) was sent ahead of Tewatia 4(1). So #ShubmanGill deserves the sack #GTvsSRH #ipl2026

[Harsh Goenka @hvgoenka]

I can safely predict that at least four IPL captains may not be leading their teams next season… and a couple could even step aside before this season ends. Which four you can guess - but it’s fairly obvious!

[Rags @RagsTweets]

@hvgoenka LAG,RR,MI,CSK

[Rags @RagsTweets]

@pintusi11376418 @TheVijayMallya Mallya owes no money to banks now, in fact tgey owe something to him. I guess at least 10K families directly owe their livelihood at some stage to him (incl the Dravids!). A few hundred may have list their livelihoods due to Kingfisher Airlines. They couldn’t find jobs, hung on

[Rags @RagsTweets]

Excellent post! @LalitKModi ahould be a guest faculty at the best B-Schools in India. Otherwise it’s India’s loss

[Lalit Kumar Modi @LalitKModi]

The mistake many analysts are making is that they are treating IPL like it is still a pure television property. It is not. The IPL has evolved into a multi-screen, multi-platform entertainment ecosystem.

The audience has not disappeared.
The audience has migrated.

Here is the correct strategic narrative:

⸻

IPL: The Screen Changed. The Audience Did Not.

The headlines screaming “IPL viewership decline” are selectively quoting one metric:
Average Minute Audience on linear television.

That is only one part of the ecosystem.

What those headlines ignore is the far more important structural shift taking place across global sports consumption:

* Viewers are moving from broadcast TV to OTT
* Families are splitting viewing across devices
* Young audiences prefer mobile and Connected TV
* Advertisers increasingly want measurable engagement, not just TV ratings

The IPL is not shrinking.
It is transforming faster than traditional media can measure.

⸻

The Real Story Is Total Reach

In 2008, IPL operated in a largely television-driven India.

Today, IPL lives simultaneously across:

* Linear television
* Mobile streaming
* Tablets
* Connected TVs
* Smart TVs
* Multi-device households
* Social amplification ecosystems

That changes how audiences are counted.

The cumulative reach across platforms in IPL 2026 has already crossed 1.06 billion viewers, with the playoffs still to come.

That is not decline.
That is scale expansion.

⸻

Television Ratings Fell. But The Universe Expanded.

Yes, TV ratings are lower.

But the interpretation matters.

Linear TV was once the only screen.
Now it is simply one screen among many.

Connected TV concurrency is up 61% YoY.
Opening weekend watch time rose 26% YoY.

The audience did not leave IPL.
They upgraded their screens.

⸻

IPL Is Following The Same Pattern As Every Major Global Sports Property

This is not unique to cricket.

The same transition happened with:

* NFL
* NBA
* Premier League
* Formula 1
* Olympics

Traditional TV softens while:

* streaming explodes,
* mobile dominates younger demographics,
* and connected TV becomes the premium household screen.

The IPL is simply entering the next phase earlier and faster because India is one of the world’s most mobile-first digital economies.

⸻

Why Advertisers Are Shifting To Digital

Television can tell you:

* a household watched.

Digital can tell you:

* who watched,
* for how long,
* on what device,
* whether they interacted,
* and whether they bought.

That is the future of advertising economics.

Which is why:

* 125 new brands entered the digital IPL ecosystem this season
* Connected TV ad pricing continues to strengthen
* Watch time across combined platforms is projected to exceed last year’s record levels

The monetisation engine is evolving.

⸻

The Most Important Metric: Total Consumption

The real measure of sports dominance is not one-screen TV ratings anymore.

It is:

* cumulative reach,
* total watch time,
* engagement depth,
* concurrency,
* advertiser demand,
* and cross-platform dominance.

By that measurement, IPL remains one of the most powerful sports-entertainment properties on earth.

Projected combined watch time for IPL 2026:
850–900 billion minutes.

That is extraordinary.

⸻

The Strategic Perspective

Critics are looking at IPL through a 2008 lens.

But IPL in 2026 is no longer:

* a cricket tournament,
* or even just a TV product.

It is:

* a digital entertainment ecosystem,
* a mobile-first phenomenon,
* and one of the largest real-time engagement platforms in the world.

The measurement model changed.
The audience behaviour changed.
The scale did not shrink.

It expanded.

“The IPL did not lose its audience.
The audience simply changed screens.
Measuring a digital-first global sports property only through television ratings is like measuring the internet through newspaper circulation.”

@ipl @PTI_News @JioHotstar @espnstarsport @espn

[Rags @RagsTweets]

#Hetmeyer is the biggest waste of space, time and money in #IPL #RRvsGT @rajasthanroyals

[Rags @RagsTweets]

It happens only in #TamilNadu and always in #TamilNadu

[IndiaToday @IndiaToday]

Vijay govt delayed, TVK backer sets self on fire
Delay in Vijay becoming CM upsets TVK supporter
TVK backer suffers severs burn injuries

@PramodMadhav6 with more details

#TamilNadu #TVK | @Sriya_Kundu

[Rags @RagsTweets]

The governor should not ask Vijay to prove majority. Instead ask all parties and independents to indicate their choice (Yes/No/ “Undecided”). Invite Leader getting highest Ayes if Yes+Undecided gives majority #TN #TVK #TVKVijay‌ #TamilNadu #TamilNaduPolitics

[Rags @RagsTweets]

#TamilNadu situation is similar to #Delhi situation of 2015 when #AAP took support of Congress. TN, don’t slip into situation of repoll, #TVK gets 90+% of seats, #CentrevsState ugly fights return. Treat TamilNadu as ‘Tamil’ Nadu

[Rags @RagsTweets]

What kind of an ass***e is this bowler called #KartikTyagi ?
#KKRvsLSG #ipl2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

If #TR makes it to the final, #Hetmeyer should not be in playing 11. #RRvsSRJ #ipl2026 #iplseason2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

#Suryavanshi and Jurel are like #SiameseTwins - with Jurel’s performance inextricably linked to Suryavanshi’s in #Ipl2026 #rrvslsg

[Rags @RagsTweets]

As #DavidMiller walked in, I told myself “this man is too jaded and old for #iplseason2026 #IPL2026 #IPL and he proved me right #SRHvsDC

[Rags @RagsTweets]

Shimron Hetmeyer is clearly not #IPL class, have said it several times before 🤔#IPL2026

[Rags @RagsTweets]

@sardesairajdeep @surya_14kumar @shishhattangadi @RaviShastriOfc Dilip Sardesai deserved a stand, not just a gate! Indian cricket’s renaissance began at West Indies with Dilip Sardesai, supported by Gavaskar (seniority + contribution more important than just contribution)

[Rags @RagsTweets]

I never had any live for #RCB post Mallya. The team management, especially the bidders and influencers of bidders had scant respect for Karnataka players
#RCBvCSK #RCBvsCSK