The Surfer

'Power behind the throne'

Anjali Doshi, in Open explores the rise of Sundar Raman, a man who is not readily associated with power, but is the source of BCCI's financial might

04-Oct-2013
IPL chief executive Sundar Raman flies under the radar, but he is seen as the mastermind behind BCCI's finances. From inking sponsorship deals, dealing with the media and also negotiating with the respective boards of other countries, Raman's responsibilities are key to the swelling of BCCI's coffers. Anjali Doshi, in Open, explores the rise of a man who was rejected by the Indian Institute of Management, one of the top business schools in the country, but now forms a vital part of a $3.3 billion enterprise
The spotlight over the past few years has been on powerful and seen-to-be-powerful officials like N Srinivasan, Lalit Modi, Sharad Pawar and Jagmohan Dalmiya. But since the exit of Modi, his former boss, in 2010, Raman has been the man taking the key decisions: negotiating and signing off with cricket boards on the T&Cs of bilateral tours, dealing with sponsors, broadcasters and the media to ensure the Board squeezes out every last dollar's worth, and exercising the 21st century right of any self-respecting BCCI official--showing the ICC who is in charge.