The IPL was Lalit Modi’s brainchild, but others have helped it reach maturity
As the IPL journey starts tonight, I have to say I was an IPL sceptic to begin with in 2008. I did not know how the fans would take to cricketers going under the hammer, and I wasn’t sure if people would come out in numbers to watch the tournament being played at 4pm India time. Needless to say, I was proved wrong. Afternoon games were played to packed stands, and it was unbelievable to see 50,000-plus people brave the 40-degree heat and turn up to watch every game.
As we celebrate the $3.41 billion IPL team sales, we must also celebrate foresight – be it that of Lalit Modi, the team owners, or Shane Warne. The big learning for any entrepreneur is this ability to look ahead. No business can operate on the short term alone. While you can’t sustain losses for long, it is also essential to understand what the end point could be. It is a chess game.
No player has ever won a chess tournament by playing move by move. You anticipate three or four moves ahead, and only then are you a good player. That’s what the IPL is about. Warne, for example, could anticipate what the tournament would become. That’s why he opted for the 0.75 per cent (per year he played) stake deal with Rajasthan Royals, and that’s why he will forever stand apart.
Take the case of Lalit Modi. In the last few days, I have seen Modi seek validation on social media. He need not. The IPL will always be something he was the architect of, and no one can take that away from him. It was Lalit who understood the potential of the idea and convinced Sharad Pawar and the BCCI to back him.
At the same time, Lalit needs to acknowledge that he is no longer part of the story. The IPL has grown, and the people who are now running it are just as much a part of that growth story. They are the ones who have led the exponential growth phase and will claim credit for it.
And in all of this, we keep forgetting the role of the BCCI. Whether it is Lalit or any other administrator, each of them has worked under the umbrella of the BCCI. The institution is always bigger than the individual, and the IPL, however much individuals have contributed to shaping it, will forever remain a BCCI property. Had Sharad Pawar not empowered Lalit Modi in 2007, he couldn’t have executed the IPL in the way he wanted.
Since Lalit left India, if the BCCI mandarins had not been capable, they could have destroyed the league and made a mess of it. So, credit where it is due. Lalit will remain its architect, but the current BCCI mandarins, Jay Shah and the present team of administrators, surely deserve credit for taking the league to greater heights.
For fans, however, none of this matters. They are waiting for the clock to strike 8 pm and for the first ball to be bowled at the Chinnaswamy. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will start their title defence, and India’s prime-time addiction will be back for the next two months.
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