Cricket's next big evolution - a grand entry into the world of NFT 

In March 2021, Jack Dorsey’s first ever tweet dating back to 2006 was sold for about 20 crores. In April, a joke photo of ‘Disaster Girl’ was sold for 3.5 Crores. They were being sold as Non Fungible Tokens (NFT). The NBA, for example, has embarked on a similar journey and has already created serious value for itself by selling what are being labelled as “digital collectibles.”

Football, too, has entered the space and serious value has already been created with NFT’s with top flight football stars. With trade coming to a standstill because of Covid and with crypto becoming a globally acceptable form of exchange, it was a natural corollary that NFT’s will become popular over time.

What is an NFT in one sentence? It is nothing but an extension of contemporary art. Just as people invest in art, investors are now seeking value in NFT’s and investing in them.

Cricket, too, is now waking up to this world of NFT’s. Real memorabilia, which has a provenance, are becoming serious options for investment and in the not too distant future, we might see top stars getting into this game themselves.

Speaking about NFT’s Anwar Hussein, who leads Cricflix and is the CEO of the HBK group in Dubai says -

“I don’t think it is a bubble. People know these items can accrue them real value over time and it is indeed an extension of contemporary art. What is important is how you play the technology game. You have to own the technology and be a serious player and not simply look to make some money and move out. That won’t work. But if you are willing to deep dive this is seriously going to be a big play going forward. At Cricflix we have invested serious money is creating the technology so that we can create real value with our NFT’s over time.”

After the 90s when digital media became the medium of choice, nobody could collect the iconic moments on a digital platform. How do you collect an iconic tweet? A digital magazine? A digital ticket? This was not possible for a long time.

Now, history is being remade. Non Fungible Tokens are digital tokens, a new technology that represent unique digital assets. Each NFT is unique and is a collectible that cannot be replicated or copied, making them rare by design. This opens up a global audience to the value sitting locked up in a safe somewhere.

Imagine the NFT of Jhulan’s world cup semi-final winning jersey bought by someone in Japan, and a few moments later, being traded with someone in Dubai. Imagine souvenirs from India’s tour to England in 1932 and 1936 and then to Australia in 1948 being listed on a platform for anyone to come and buy, that's something!

For the auction on the 24th, Cricflix is bringing to the table from India’s tours of the past, bats from the 2011 World Cup-winning team, signed memorabilia from the 1983 team, jerseys from the 2018 win in Australia and a lot more.

With newer and newer technologies, the world has much to show us new opportunities, and today, Blockchain is the next big revolution. While some of us will be in denial for a while, like some banks who took decades to computerize their records and systems. Those that adopt these new technologies can well make a mark. The same is true for Cricket.