The IPL Saga- Chaos

When the lead story in the Economic Times is about the IPL spat and not about the RBI's credit policy it is safe to say that things have become a little bit cuckoo. But that is what cricket does to us and the truth is, this entire fiasco has a lot more to with economics than with cricket. After waiting a few days to let things unravel. Here is my take on the latest controversy to hit the IPL.

If you don't know what is happening in this saga then either you have been away on an island or haven't picked up a newspaper in the past week. This has been nothing short of chaos. I could have written on a number of things related to this mela, but I chose these three. Lets get right in to it.

Bye Bye Shashi Tharoor

This man didn't know what hit him. He took on the king and got clobbered. Here is my issue with him. Fine, he did what he did. But why is he still talking about how his conscience is clear and claiming innocence? I mean seriously, give me a break. His girlfriend was going to be given a Rs 70 crore stake as sweat equity? For what? Public Relations? And then everyone complains that Investment Bankers get paid too much. If she was in the US, President Obama would be on her case to regulate the pay scale for PR agents. It is pretty clear that he was taking a stake in the team via her and got caught. I never had a strong opinion of Shashi Tharoor, positive or negative, and that hasn't changed. Oh and if he was worried about fitting in to the Indian political scenario, after this, he should feel right at home.

What will happen to Lalit Modi?

Before we get to what happens to him I just want to say that if any of you didn't know that Lalit Modi is a shady character then you are as ignorant as it gets. I don't consider myself as someone in the "know", but as far back as the first IPL a lot of people said that he had a stake in the Rajasthan Royals. Even before this storm brewed, I had heard that he had a stake in 3 IPL teams. Now, I didn't care then and after all this, I still don't care. He has created entertainment beyond belief and if he makes money while doing it that doesn't bother me. Here is where he goofed up though. If you want a stake in a team, do it openly. Why hide the process? It is like buying shares in your own company, there is nothing wrong with it. Why do it through underground means? Just silly.

As far as what happens to him, the most likely scenario is that Lalit Modi is going to be forced to resign. If that happens, which it probably will, the question arises, how will Lalit go? Will he go quietly and drift in to oblivion? Or will he say, if I am going down, I am taking you all down with me?

Normally, I would say he would probably drift away. But this is different. This is the IPL. This is the tournament that he created. This is the event that put him on the map and made him a household name. This is what made him a legend, a transformer of cricket and a genius. More than anything else, this has given Modi a high that no amount of money could have ever given him. He is Lalit Modi- the man behind of one of the greatest events in recent cricket history. For someone who has been labeled a loser, the black sheep of the family and trouble all around, to take away the IPL high might make him snap.

If he does snap, and brings people down with him, then good luck to everyone involved. I have no doubt that Lalit Modi knows about more shady deals than Ramalinga Raju could have even dreamed off. It will be scandalous beyond belief. With a $4 billion valuation in 3 years, the IPL scandal box is probably full.

Will Lalit Modi open it? If they fire him and he is done, then I think he should bring everyone down too.

What happens to the IPL?

Good question. I don't know. I was talking to a friend the other day and he said, the model is in place, so even if Lalit goes, these guys can run it from here. I am not sure about that. In fact, I feel that without him, this thing might fall apart. In leagues like the NFL and NBA in the US, the commissioner's role is crucial. The choice for commissioner, his powers, responsibilities and role is the focal point for any league's success. These are leagues whose models have been in place for decades and still the commissioner is the person who keeps things going.

The IPL is not even three full years old. There is the new auction, new teams, new format, many more matches, new players, old contracts, schedules. In the future- there is league expansion, creating divisions (west/east or north/south), partnering with ICC for scheduling conflicts, building brands, sponsors, viewership, format changes etc. Can you see anyone but Lalit doing this? He created the league with a deep study of the NFL, EPL, NBA and many other sports leagues. And the amount of thought and process that goes in to it is unknown.

The worst thing the BCCI could do is appoint some puppet commissioner who just does what the BCCI wants. The reason this league was a success was the passion with which Lalit Modi ran it. Besides the in depth study he did, he was non stop. Attending every match, sometimes two matches a day. During the first IPL he sat in the dug out for most matches, chatting with players, taking feedback on how to improve the league. He could have hung out in the hospitality box, but he realized the importance of star players and he gave them attention and constantly tried to improve. Owners love him. He had the vision to combine India's big three- Cricket, Bollywood and the Corporate World. He bought the glitz, the glamor and the spice to the league. When the government of India couldn't offer security for matches, he moved a tournament of this magnitude to South Africa in 30 days and it was a success. This year he struck a deal with YouTube. Now, cricket fans in the US and Europe can have the matches playing on their office computers and viewership has soared.

This was all Lalit Modi. The BCCI and Shashank Manohar have done nothing. Who is going to come in and replace him? Frankly, I think the only person who could do it as well as him is me :-). But I doubt I'll get the job.

I hope he stays on. I doubt he will, but I hope. Slap him on the wrist and keep him on. If he goes, there are chances so will the IPL in 2-3 years may be sooner.

More Later

Photo Credit

Shashi Tharoor- http://alexp0205.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/shashi-tharoor.jpg

Lalit Modi- http://sports.indiainfo.com/2009/02/05/images/lalit_modi1.jpg