He was banned for life by BCCI in 2013.
The credit for the success behind the Indian Premier League (IPL) should largely be given to former chairman Lalit Modi. He not only brought the unique idea to reality, but also played a massive role in bringing investors, sponsors, and broadcasters. Modi created a world from scratch with just a ray of hope that changed the world of cricket.
Modi has recently revealed the story behind how he put everything at risk, breaching the exclusivity agreement with official broadcaster Sony, and how he brought news channels into play to telecast IPL’s first-ever match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) live. After 18 years since its inception, the IPL is arguably the best among all franchise tournaments globally and has become a gateway for players to secure a place in the Indian cricket team.
Speaking on the former Australian captain Michael Clarke’s Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Modi claimed that he was worried that if the first game flopped in terms of viewership, his career would be over. As a result, believing that Sony didn’t have enough reach, Modi took a gamble and broke the contract to find maximum viewership across the globe.
“Everything, everything was dependent on that one game. I broke every rule in the book that day. I signed the contract, an exclusive contract with Sony, but Sony didn’t have the reach and asked to open the signal. Now it was available everywhere, right? And I told all the broadcasters who lost out, all of you, all news channels, to go live. Sony said, ‘I’ll sue you. ’ I said, ‘Sue me later; forget about it. Ok, we are going live now because you don’t have the reach. I needed everybody to watch the first game. If the first game had flopped, I was dead,” Modi spoke on the podcast.
However, many media reports substantiate the claims. But after the first game, the IPL didn’t remain as India’s T20 League. It was all over the world, with billions of people watching arch-rival players share the dressing room and play for the same team.
Former New Zealand batter Brendon McCullum smashed a swashbuckling 158-run knock off 73 balls, including 13 sixes and 10 fours, in the tournament opener in Bengaluru. His knock played a huge part in setting the tone for the tournament. As a result, IPL emerged as a humongous success for Sony and Modi.
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Despite IPL’s massive success, the relationship between BCCI and Modi, who was a BCCI board member at that time, became controversial.
In March 2009, the BCCI terminated its broadcasting contract with Sony Entertainment Television (Multi Screen Media, MSM) and World Sports Group (WSG), citing alleged breaches. However, Modi renegotiated the right with Sony and signed a deal until 2017 for about USD 1.63 billion (around INR 8,200 crore), while WSG received INR 425 crore as a ‘facilitation fee’ for surrendering claims.
The BCCI then claimed that Modi had acted beyond his powers and favoured WSG by tweaking the contracts of others. Following the conclusion of the IPL 2010, the BCCI had suspended Modi, allegedly accusing him of misconduct, indiscipline and financial irregularities. The Indian cricket board also launched an investigation against him and banned him for life in 2013 after a committee found him guilty of these charges.
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