The Modi Operandum

In the Wisden Cricketer, Sharda Ugra provides insight into how Lalit Modi operates, and how went about creating the Indian Premier League.

As the IPL gathered strength, Modi hit top form as businessman and powerbroker. A CEO of a national cricket board said dealing with Modi was like being in discussion with George Bush: “Either you are with him or you are against him.” The IPL is not cricket’s Afghanistan or Iraq, so everyone is with him. On the record, that is.

The closest anyone in office has come to speaking coolly is when the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, said: “Mr Modi is a very good marketing person. In one line I’ve described him and that’s all I would like to say.” Cricket Australia’s CEO, James Sutherland, who held meetings to discuss the IPL with Modi in its early stages, said: “To grow in a cluttered entertainment market, cricket must provide a compelling proposition to its fans. Lalit has a remarkably clear view of this relationship between the sport and the public.”