'You know my name, but not my story' - Lalit Modi

But surely as architect and founder of the IPL, a scenario where his competition was all powerful in the marketplace was exactly what he would have wanted? "I always wanted the IPL to be global but that's what the Champions League was for. To support the boards. The objective of the IPL being played overseas was to share revenues with other countries. But the BCCI will control all of it. They won't share their money with anyone. The BCCI mindset is different from mine. So the growth of the IPL will be detrimental to the game."

Modi is warming to the theme and he leans forward in his seat. He talks of other scenarios where the world's cricket boards are beholden to the BCCI, calling them a giant which must be stopped. He deplores the poverty which New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan cricket boards suffer from, reckoning that India, England and Australia have "hatched a plan" to stage global tournaments in only those three countries. Then he talks about the BCCI's row with Cricket South Africa and his mood, suddenly, changes.