Sunday, February 24, 2008
BCCI warns franchisees over U-19 boys
NEW DELHI, February 23: With Indian Premier League teams in a hurry to sign up domestic players, the cricket Board has been forced to become a bit vigilant. The BCCI is worried about the fact that agents of franchisees have reached Kuala Lumpur to negotiate with the Under-19 players, that too on the eve of their quarterfinal match against England on Sunday. "Why distract them when they are busy with the World Cup? The board has told the team management to take appropriate steps and put the bidding of U-19 players on hold," the board official said. Sources told TOI that two U-19 players have already signed contracts with the franchisees. When told about that, the official said those contracts would be considered as null and void. Reacting to BCCI's temporary freeze on hiring U-19 players, one of the franchisees said: "Now at least, we can think about getting the right team." Another franchisee expressed surprise at the fact that the colts are bargaining. "I can't imagine an Under-19 player telling us that he is already being offered Rs 40 lakh by a team and that he is willing to play for my side if he is offered more money," an official for the franchisee said.
I am happy as long as players make money: Lalit Modi
New Delhi (PTI): The mastermind behind the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), Lalit Modi said he is not too much bothered about the anomalies in pricing of some players during the recently-held auction.
Modi said the hype of India's emergence in cricket was responsible for some young players being sold for healthy price tags.
"The hype that India is the world champs in Twenty20 is taking the whole team forward. There are people who are paying huge sum of money and today some may say that someone is over-priced or under-priced".
"As far as I am concerned, if players make more money, I am happy. Take the example of Ishant Sharma, six months back nobody knew him," Modi told NDTV on Saturday.
Modi said he was taken by surprise over the huge success of the IPL as a business venture.
"We are probably 30-40 per cent above our business plan. We thought it may fall in that area but never thought it would really happen. I myself is surprised by the fact that actually it has reached today. We would not have been able to write a better script ourself. Now we just have to deliver."
Modi set aside the controversy that he helped Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan hours before the start of the players' bidding.
In the dead of night on Tuesday, Modi visited Shah Rukh and courted controversy for helping Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd -- the IPL franchise owned by the actor.
Modi, however, said that he showed no favouritism and tried to help other franchisees as well.
"I have been accused of helping someone in the bidding process by some news channels. I didn't only visit Shahrukh Khan, I was with four teams owners at night. I was with Mohali before that, I was with Jaipur, I was with UB team. It's my job to explain them the process and explain them how to go for the bidding," Modi said.
Modi said players would be the ultimate gainers because of the IPL.
"Money is good for the game. It is not the board, the players are also making the money. More money means more stars, more enjoyment for the people. Even if in other sports like football, there are players who play for the country and perform even though the clubs pay them 10 times more.
"So similarly in cricket the country will always come first. And if you do not perform at the international level, you would not be chosen in the clubs."
The BCCI Vice President, however, said that the IPL, which would feature the Twenty20 format of the game, would never prove to be a menace for one-day and Test cricket.
"I don't think it will ever happen. There are lots of people who will die for their country, cheer for the country. It will take time for the club culture to set in. It won't happen overnight.
Modi also allayed fears that the IPL would affect the International Cricket Council's Future Tour Programme and because of the league India might not be able to host weaker sides.
"ICC or I or anybody else cannot create a window till 2011. FTP, till 2011, is already frozen and nobody is asking to change it till 2011. It is the media who is speculating. We have a natural window in the month of March when most of the countries stop playing professional cricket," he said.
Modi said the hype of India's emergence in cricket was responsible for some young players being sold for healthy price tags.
"The hype that India is the world champs in Twenty20 is taking the whole team forward. There are people who are paying huge sum of money and today some may say that someone is over-priced or under-priced".
"As far as I am concerned, if players make more money, I am happy. Take the example of Ishant Sharma, six months back nobody knew him," Modi told NDTV on Saturday.
Modi said he was taken by surprise over the huge success of the IPL as a business venture.
"We are probably 30-40 per cent above our business plan. We thought it may fall in that area but never thought it would really happen. I myself is surprised by the fact that actually it has reached today. We would not have been able to write a better script ourself. Now we just have to deliver."
Modi set aside the controversy that he helped Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan hours before the start of the players' bidding.
In the dead of night on Tuesday, Modi visited Shah Rukh and courted controversy for helping Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd -- the IPL franchise owned by the actor.
Modi, however, said that he showed no favouritism and tried to help other franchisees as well.
"I have been accused of helping someone in the bidding process by some news channels. I didn't only visit Shahrukh Khan, I was with four teams owners at night. I was with Mohali before that, I was with Jaipur, I was with UB team. It's my job to explain them the process and explain them how to go for the bidding," Modi said.
Modi said players would be the ultimate gainers because of the IPL.
"Money is good for the game. It is not the board, the players are also making the money. More money means more stars, more enjoyment for the people. Even if in other sports like football, there are players who play for the country and perform even though the clubs pay them 10 times more.
"So similarly in cricket the country will always come first. And if you do not perform at the international level, you would not be chosen in the clubs."
The BCCI Vice President, however, said that the IPL, which would feature the Twenty20 format of the game, would never prove to be a menace for one-day and Test cricket.
"I don't think it will ever happen. There are lots of people who will die for their country, cheer for the country. It will take time for the club culture to set in. It won't happen overnight.
Modi also allayed fears that the IPL would affect the International Cricket Council's Future Tour Programme and because of the league India might not be able to host weaker sides.
"ICC or I or anybody else cannot create a window till 2011. FTP, till 2011, is already frozen and nobody is asking to change it till 2011. It is the media who is speculating. We have a natural window in the month of March when most of the countries stop playing professional cricket," he said.
No poaching of Under-19 players for IPL, says BCCI
New Delhi (PTI): Concerned that big bucks can distract young players at the ongoing Under-19 World Cup, the BCCI has directed franchisee owners of the Indian Premier League not to sign contracts with these players for the time being.
Currently the Indian youngsters are doing well in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia and the IPL agents have been trying to hire these players by offering lucrative contracts.
The IPL stipulations say that each of the eight franchisees must hire at least four under-22 players and amounts ranging from USD 20,000 to USD 50,000 are reportedly being offered to the youngsters to join a side.
The Indian Board, however, is not impressed with the bid to poach the young players and has issued a directive to all Under-19 cricketers and the franchisees not to sign any contract until further notice.
"We are not allowing any Under-19 players to sign up with a franchisee as of now," IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said.
About the contracts already signed with a few under-19 players, he said, "They will be null and void."
Currently the Indian youngsters are doing well in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia and the IPL agents have been trying to hire these players by offering lucrative contracts.
The IPL stipulations say that each of the eight franchisees must hire at least four under-22 players and amounts ranging from USD 20,000 to USD 50,000 are reportedly being offered to the youngsters to join a side.
The Indian Board, however, is not impressed with the bid to poach the young players and has issued a directive to all Under-19 cricketers and the franchisees not to sign any contract until further notice.
"We are not allowing any Under-19 players to sign up with a franchisee as of now," IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said.
About the contracts already signed with a few under-19 players, he said, "They will be null and void."
Big money has its dangers
Apart from the obvious and envy-producing upsizing of our top cricketers' pay packets, there could be an upside to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
However that upside may exist only in a perfect world and when did an abundance of wealth produce a perfect world? More likely the cash floating around will only end up perverting the present cricket environment.
I think it is a good thing our top players are now being remunerated so substantially. In a perfect world, and if the IPL continues indefinitely into the future, what an incentive it provides for our cricketing talent. If New Zealand gets only a handful of IPL contracts, then obviously you want to be such a fine player that you work your way into the calculations of the IPL franchise administrators. To do that, you would need to perform to world-class standard in Twenty/20 internationals, one day internationals and test cricket. I'd imagine New Zealand Cricket would take that spinoff.
But that's a perfect world and I can't see it taking long before that world is shattered by dollars.
For one thing, there may be a bit of dressing room jealousy. Some players may not be altogether happy that some teammates are set up for life.
Older players not on the IPL payroll will need a retirement plan - which will make the ICL more attractive. That may take a few of our older players out of the game sooner than is ideal but that can be absorbed. However, if some of the better up-and-coming talent get impatient for the IPL promised land, they might opt for the ICL too. If the IPL prospers, the ICL may drift off but there is a real threat to world cricket if the IPL flourishes.
If you've paid US$100 million for a franchise, you are going to want to work that asset hard. More games, more tournaments and a hell of lot more pressure on the Future Tours Programme.
That in turn is going to pressure players to be available for more IPL cricket and that could affect test match availability.
We may find that international performance becomes a qualifying standard for IPL contracts and, once that's achieved, it's time to scale down one's international commitments.
Also, do you want to be a player who can bat for a long time and win tests or just a sensational hitter of a cricket ball?
The upshot of last week's IPL player auction is that, for a New Zealand cricketer, the most lucrative form of the game is not international cricket.
Supposedly IPL cricket will not infringe upon international cricket but for how long?
I get the feeling that Indian-generated US dollars will once again dictate ICC terms.
However that upside may exist only in a perfect world and when did an abundance of wealth produce a perfect world? More likely the cash floating around will only end up perverting the present cricket environment.
I think it is a good thing our top players are now being remunerated so substantially. In a perfect world, and if the IPL continues indefinitely into the future, what an incentive it provides for our cricketing talent. If New Zealand gets only a handful of IPL contracts, then obviously you want to be such a fine player that you work your way into the calculations of the IPL franchise administrators. To do that, you would need to perform to world-class standard in Twenty/20 internationals, one day internationals and test cricket. I'd imagine New Zealand Cricket would take that spinoff.
But that's a perfect world and I can't see it taking long before that world is shattered by dollars.
For one thing, there may be a bit of dressing room jealousy. Some players may not be altogether happy that some teammates are set up for life.
Older players not on the IPL payroll will need a retirement plan - which will make the ICL more attractive. That may take a few of our older players out of the game sooner than is ideal but that can be absorbed. However, if some of the better up-and-coming talent get impatient for the IPL promised land, they might opt for the ICL too. If the IPL prospers, the ICL may drift off but there is a real threat to world cricket if the IPL flourishes.
If you've paid US$100 million for a franchise, you are going to want to work that asset hard. More games, more tournaments and a hell of lot more pressure on the Future Tours Programme.
That in turn is going to pressure players to be available for more IPL cricket and that could affect test match availability.
We may find that international performance becomes a qualifying standard for IPL contracts and, once that's achieved, it's time to scale down one's international commitments.
Also, do you want to be a player who can bat for a long time and win tests or just a sensational hitter of a cricket ball?
The upshot of last week's IPL player auction is that, for a New Zealand cricketer, the most lucrative form of the game is not international cricket.
Supposedly IPL cricket will not infringe upon international cricket but for how long?
I get the feeling that Indian-generated US dollars will once again dictate ICC terms.
The week that changed cricket forever
The extraordinary sale of international players at an auction in Mumbai on Wednesday marked a new era in which rewards will start to rival those of footballers
'Without a doubt our objective is to be bigger than the English Premier League' - Lalit Modi, Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner
'What is sad is that within five years maybe international cricket will no longer exist because of the IPL' - Kapil Dev, Wisden India Cricketer of the 20th century
Midday, New Delhi, 20 February 2008. Kapil Dev drinks sugared coffee in his plush apartment in Greater Kailash, an affluent part of the Indian capital. The only man to captain his country to victory in cricket's World Cup cannot stop glancing at the television screen blinking away in the background as it relays news of the extraordinary auction of Indian Premier League players at a Mumbai hotel.
Kapil is the public face of the Indian Cricket League, the country's first Twenty20 competition, and detested rival of the IPL. The player who beat Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to the accolade of Wisden's best Indian cricketer of the 20th century is supposed to be talking up his T20 competition this morning, and looking forward to its second edition, which begins next month. He makes an admirable attempt. Yet, after an opening tournament before Christmas that included England players Paul Nixon, Chris Read, Vikram Solanki and Darren Maddy, the ICL has become a footnote, at best. And Kapil, however much he twinkles, seems to sense it.
Instead it is the IPL that is transfixing India's cricket-crazy population of 1.2 billion. The eight-franchise T20 league was launched by a furious Indian cricket board [BCCI] in reaction to the creation of the ICL by Subhash Chandra, owner of Zee-TV - one of India's biggest broadcast companies. Now, while Kapil feigns indifference, on Mumbai's waterfront Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta and billionaires including Vijay Mallya, owner of the Force India Formula One team, are haggling over some of sport's most elite flesh.
By the day's end, 78 of the world's best cricketers have passed under the gavel of Richard Madley - an English auctioneer more used to punting cricket bats - and Khan and Zinta's press conference has added a further sprinkle of stardust.
Kapil's successful leadership of India's 1983 World Cup campaign did much to ignite the love of the shortened game on the subcontinent that began the shift of power in world cricket to this region. Stadiums sold out for one-day internationals, bringing massive revenues in advertising and sponsorship. When Kapil's countryman Jagmohan Dalmiya became president of the ICC in 1997, cricket's new order was firmly in place. It is the fruits of this transformation that would seem to have been fully realised on Wednesday.
But now Kapil has fallen out seriously with the BCCI. Once accused of match-fixing by an Indian board official, Kapil had the pension he receives as a former India player suspended because of his involvement with the ICL, whose players are banned from representing India.
Despite all the acrimony, Kapil cannot hide his fascination with the waterfront action. 'I don't know what's going on down there with this auction,' he says with a grin. 'I just cannot tell.'
What Kapil and the watching millions witnessed was a day that changed cricket forever - one that could also have serious implications for the future of sport in general over the coming decades. Attended by a media scrum described by one BBC correspondent as more frantic than the day Britain decided to go to war in Iraq, the auction raised enough for £21m to go straight into the players' pockets for a maximum of 44 days' work. India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was the biggest winner, pulling in around £750,000. Sri Lanka's Chamara Silva, the least valued player, still earned himself £50,000 despite having played only nine Tests.
All this was for a competition that, until it actually begins on 18 April, no one can know exactly how it will be received by its core constituency, the Indian public. But Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner who masterminded proceedings, is more than confident.
'Oh, I'm extremely happy,' he tells Observer Sport when the media frenzy has moved on to issues such as which teams have been the shrewdest spenders - Hyderabad with Adam Gilchrist and company, apparently - and a rumour concerning clandestine meetings between Modi and some of the franchise owners on the eve of the bid.
'It has gone beyond our expectations and is so exciting to see. We have the right building blocks of the right bodies, right format and right players,' says Modi, a man of considerable private means having been born to a wealthy family. 'The next step is to make the competition a good experience for the fans. We researched it properly and studied the right models and structures and got powerful people to buy into it.'
Modi is also the BCCI's vice-president and marketing director and his delight is hardly surprising when considering the sums he has engineered. The broadcast rights were sold for $918 million (£450m) for the next 10 years.
In its 44 days of competition - run on a league format - there will be 59 IPL games. Each yearly instalment of six weeks, then, has gone for around £45m.
The current four-year deal for the total broadcast rights to English football's Premier League was £2.7bn, around four times what Modi pulled off. But the football season is six times longer than an edition of the IPL. And, it took the Premier League 15 years to build those figures.
Suddenly America and Europe, sport's traditional powerbase, have a new challenger. 'We studied the English Premier League, the European football leagues and American sports,' says Modi, 44, who spent much of his youth in the US learning about sports marketing, 'and took a piece from each. But the IPL is based primarily on the English Premier League. Except the EPL does not have player caps [limits on wages and transfer fees], which has advantages and disadvantages. The IPL does. We're starting a new product and wanted to ensure that all teams are strong, and not too small beforehand.
'Sure, some players will earn a lot. And some not so much. But there are opportunities for local players and youngsters will get their chance,' he says of a rule that dictates no more than four overseas players can play in a match. 'In [this kind of weighting] there is a similarity to how the National Football League organises itself. But the EPL is gigantic, that's our model - we want to have a solid footing over the next three years.'
Modi is confident all of the IPL investors will be rewarded. While Sony, the broadcaster, has to sell a 10-second advertising slot for £3,250 to recoup its outlay, Modi calmly states: 'I hope the club owners can make money from this.' These are led by Khan and Zinta, who, respectively, part-own Team Kolkata and Team Mohali. The remaining six franchises are controlled by an array of Indian corporations, and the tycoon Mallya, who also owns the I-League football clubs, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
'The owners receive 80 per cent of the broadcast rights, 60 per cent of sponsorship, 87.5 per cent of merchandising and all of the gate receipts and team sponsorship amounts,' Modi says.
The total paid for the franchises was $756m, which is about £45m a team. A low-ranking Premier League club free of debt would probably be satisfied with that valuation, which Modi has created in less than 12 months. He is certainly candid about the ambition of the IPL. 'Yes, the English Premier League earns lots of money,' he says. 'But there are over a billion people in India and then there are all the other cricket lovers around the world.
'Our objective is to be bigger than the EPL, definitely. This is not just about the Asian community in India or elsewhere. My son's favourite football team is Manchester United, so why could this not happen the other way round?'
On Friday, The Times of India offered one answer. 'Harbhajan Singh has enjoyed almost demi-god status while playing in Mohali,' it said, 'but will the local crowd be supportive if he dismisses Yuvraj Singh while playing for Mumbai?'
Alongside accusations of greed, it is this claim of a lack of tradition that forms the main argument against Modi and the IPL - that an artificially created contest between players whose loyalty is only to their immense salary will be reflected in disappointing crowds unsure which local hero to cheer.
Modi, though, hardly seems to care. In a further indication of just who now holds the power in world cricket, he was dismissive of the ICC's proposal, tabled on Thursday, that an official window for the IPL should not be created in the international calendar. This is due to be ratified next month, but Modi is not moved. 'I'm not concerned. Most countries' season ends in March, apart from the West Indies and England,' he says, apparently dismissive that English cricket's pre-season will prevent Kevin Pietersen and company playing unless an official window is created. 'Our time of year [for the IPL] has traditionally been free, it is a natural window - and I'm sure that will stay.'
And what of the ICL, which was created when Chandra's offer for the rights to India's internationals was refused by the BCCI? 'The ICL was created for profit, and for television. Not for fans,' Modi says. 'It has no infrastructure [all of the first competition was played at a single ground], whereas the BCCI owns stadiums all over India. It is owned by one man who can only do so much. We have eight owners who will want to win all the time.'
So what, then, are the true implications of this past week in India? If the power of world cricket is now firmly in India and in the hands of tycoons and corporations, what of the future for the game's traditional forms? Asked if success for the IPL might lead to 'Test' matches between the franchises, Modi does not completely rule out the prospect. 'We will try and play exhibition matches. But the IPL is a Twenty20 competition. So I don't think so,' he says.
Yet what is revealing is that Modi now considers himself to be in a position where he can seriously consider such a question, which should surely be enough to send a shudder through the ICC.
It is inevitably reminiscent of Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket in the 1970s - the first important wresting of power from the old guard. Brett Lee, who cost Mohali around £400,000, agrees. 'If we look back in 10 years this is going to be a massive landmark - like when the World Series started,' the Australia fast bowler says.
Will it, then, ultimately be the end of the ICC? 'It is not part of their mandate. Theirs is international cricket, this is a domestic league,' Modi says, again seeming to rule nothing out. 'India didn't have a good domestic competition with international players. This will.'
Kapil Dev is not sure. 'One should first [want to] represent one's country because that is the most important thing. I would never want to see the boys come out and say, "I play for my club, not my country."
'The thing now is to watch. What will happen over the next five years?' he says, pointing at the television. 'This could be the end of international cricket. Who actually, really, knows?'
'Without a doubt our objective is to be bigger than the English Premier League' - Lalit Modi, Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner
'What is sad is that within five years maybe international cricket will no longer exist because of the IPL' - Kapil Dev, Wisden India Cricketer of the 20th century
Midday, New Delhi, 20 February 2008. Kapil Dev drinks sugared coffee in his plush apartment in Greater Kailash, an affluent part of the Indian capital. The only man to captain his country to victory in cricket's World Cup cannot stop glancing at the television screen blinking away in the background as it relays news of the extraordinary auction of Indian Premier League players at a Mumbai hotel.
Kapil is the public face of the Indian Cricket League, the country's first Twenty20 competition, and detested rival of the IPL. The player who beat Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to the accolade of Wisden's best Indian cricketer of the 20th century is supposed to be talking up his T20 competition this morning, and looking forward to its second edition, which begins next month. He makes an admirable attempt. Yet, after an opening tournament before Christmas that included England players Paul Nixon, Chris Read, Vikram Solanki and Darren Maddy, the ICL has become a footnote, at best. And Kapil, however much he twinkles, seems to sense it.
Instead it is the IPL that is transfixing India's cricket-crazy population of 1.2 billion. The eight-franchise T20 league was launched by a furious Indian cricket board [BCCI] in reaction to the creation of the ICL by Subhash Chandra, owner of Zee-TV - one of India's biggest broadcast companies. Now, while Kapil feigns indifference, on Mumbai's waterfront Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta and billionaires including Vijay Mallya, owner of the Force India Formula One team, are haggling over some of sport's most elite flesh.
By the day's end, 78 of the world's best cricketers have passed under the gavel of Richard Madley - an English auctioneer more used to punting cricket bats - and Khan and Zinta's press conference has added a further sprinkle of stardust.
Kapil's successful leadership of India's 1983 World Cup campaign did much to ignite the love of the shortened game on the subcontinent that began the shift of power in world cricket to this region. Stadiums sold out for one-day internationals, bringing massive revenues in advertising and sponsorship. When Kapil's countryman Jagmohan Dalmiya became president of the ICC in 1997, cricket's new order was firmly in place. It is the fruits of this transformation that would seem to have been fully realised on Wednesday.
But now Kapil has fallen out seriously with the BCCI. Once accused of match-fixing by an Indian board official, Kapil had the pension he receives as a former India player suspended because of his involvement with the ICL, whose players are banned from representing India.
Despite all the acrimony, Kapil cannot hide his fascination with the waterfront action. 'I don't know what's going on down there with this auction,' he says with a grin. 'I just cannot tell.'
What Kapil and the watching millions witnessed was a day that changed cricket forever - one that could also have serious implications for the future of sport in general over the coming decades. Attended by a media scrum described by one BBC correspondent as more frantic than the day Britain decided to go to war in Iraq, the auction raised enough for £21m to go straight into the players' pockets for a maximum of 44 days' work. India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was the biggest winner, pulling in around £750,000. Sri Lanka's Chamara Silva, the least valued player, still earned himself £50,000 despite having played only nine Tests.
All this was for a competition that, until it actually begins on 18 April, no one can know exactly how it will be received by its core constituency, the Indian public. But Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner who masterminded proceedings, is more than confident.
'Oh, I'm extremely happy,' he tells Observer Sport when the media frenzy has moved on to issues such as which teams have been the shrewdest spenders - Hyderabad with Adam Gilchrist and company, apparently - and a rumour concerning clandestine meetings between Modi and some of the franchise owners on the eve of the bid.
'It has gone beyond our expectations and is so exciting to see. We have the right building blocks of the right bodies, right format and right players,' says Modi, a man of considerable private means having been born to a wealthy family. 'The next step is to make the competition a good experience for the fans. We researched it properly and studied the right models and structures and got powerful people to buy into it.'
Modi is also the BCCI's vice-president and marketing director and his delight is hardly surprising when considering the sums he has engineered. The broadcast rights were sold for $918 million (£450m) for the next 10 years.
In its 44 days of competition - run on a league format - there will be 59 IPL games. Each yearly instalment of six weeks, then, has gone for around £45m.
The current four-year deal for the total broadcast rights to English football's Premier League was £2.7bn, around four times what Modi pulled off. But the football season is six times longer than an edition of the IPL. And, it took the Premier League 15 years to build those figures.
Suddenly America and Europe, sport's traditional powerbase, have a new challenger. 'We studied the English Premier League, the European football leagues and American sports,' says Modi, 44, who spent much of his youth in the US learning about sports marketing, 'and took a piece from each. But the IPL is based primarily on the English Premier League. Except the EPL does not have player caps [limits on wages and transfer fees], which has advantages and disadvantages. The IPL does. We're starting a new product and wanted to ensure that all teams are strong, and not too small beforehand.
'Sure, some players will earn a lot. And some not so much. But there are opportunities for local players and youngsters will get their chance,' he says of a rule that dictates no more than four overseas players can play in a match. 'In [this kind of weighting] there is a similarity to how the National Football League organises itself. But the EPL is gigantic, that's our model - we want to have a solid footing over the next three years.'
Modi is confident all of the IPL investors will be rewarded. While Sony, the broadcaster, has to sell a 10-second advertising slot for £3,250 to recoup its outlay, Modi calmly states: 'I hope the club owners can make money from this.' These are led by Khan and Zinta, who, respectively, part-own Team Kolkata and Team Mohali. The remaining six franchises are controlled by an array of Indian corporations, and the tycoon Mallya, who also owns the I-League football clubs, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
'The owners receive 80 per cent of the broadcast rights, 60 per cent of sponsorship, 87.5 per cent of merchandising and all of the gate receipts and team sponsorship amounts,' Modi says.
The total paid for the franchises was $756m, which is about £45m a team. A low-ranking Premier League club free of debt would probably be satisfied with that valuation, which Modi has created in less than 12 months. He is certainly candid about the ambition of the IPL. 'Yes, the English Premier League earns lots of money,' he says. 'But there are over a billion people in India and then there are all the other cricket lovers around the world.
'Our objective is to be bigger than the EPL, definitely. This is not just about the Asian community in India or elsewhere. My son's favourite football team is Manchester United, so why could this not happen the other way round?'
On Friday, The Times of India offered one answer. 'Harbhajan Singh has enjoyed almost demi-god status while playing in Mohali,' it said, 'but will the local crowd be supportive if he dismisses Yuvraj Singh while playing for Mumbai?'
Alongside accusations of greed, it is this claim of a lack of tradition that forms the main argument against Modi and the IPL - that an artificially created contest between players whose loyalty is only to their immense salary will be reflected in disappointing crowds unsure which local hero to cheer.
Modi, though, hardly seems to care. In a further indication of just who now holds the power in world cricket, he was dismissive of the ICC's proposal, tabled on Thursday, that an official window for the IPL should not be created in the international calendar. This is due to be ratified next month, but Modi is not moved. 'I'm not concerned. Most countries' season ends in March, apart from the West Indies and England,' he says, apparently dismissive that English cricket's pre-season will prevent Kevin Pietersen and company playing unless an official window is created. 'Our time of year [for the IPL] has traditionally been free, it is a natural window - and I'm sure that will stay.'
And what of the ICL, which was created when Chandra's offer for the rights to India's internationals was refused by the BCCI? 'The ICL was created for profit, and for television. Not for fans,' Modi says. 'It has no infrastructure [all of the first competition was played at a single ground], whereas the BCCI owns stadiums all over India. It is owned by one man who can only do so much. We have eight owners who will want to win all the time.'
So what, then, are the true implications of this past week in India? If the power of world cricket is now firmly in India and in the hands of tycoons and corporations, what of the future for the game's traditional forms? Asked if success for the IPL might lead to 'Test' matches between the franchises, Modi does not completely rule out the prospect. 'We will try and play exhibition matches. But the IPL is a Twenty20 competition. So I don't think so,' he says.
Yet what is revealing is that Modi now considers himself to be in a position where he can seriously consider such a question, which should surely be enough to send a shudder through the ICC.
It is inevitably reminiscent of Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket in the 1970s - the first important wresting of power from the old guard. Brett Lee, who cost Mohali around £400,000, agrees. 'If we look back in 10 years this is going to be a massive landmark - like when the World Series started,' the Australia fast bowler says.
Will it, then, ultimately be the end of the ICC? 'It is not part of their mandate. Theirs is international cricket, this is a domestic league,' Modi says, again seeming to rule nothing out. 'India didn't have a good domestic competition with international players. This will.'
Kapil Dev is not sure. 'One should first [want to] represent one's country because that is the most important thing. I would never want to see the boys come out and say, "I play for my club, not my country."
'The thing now is to watch. What will happen over the next five years?' he says, pointing at the television. 'This could be the end of international cricket. Who actually, really, knows?'
Cash-rich IPL good for cricket: Richards
Melbourne: Welcoming the cash-rich Indian Premier League, West Indian great Vivian Richards said the huge money associated with the venture would do a world of good to cricket.
The original master blaster said there was nothing wrong in bringing a lot of money to the game as it would be beneficial for the players.
"If it can be arranged I don't think anything would be wrong with that. Others, establishment-wise, see these things sometimes as threatening but I think it must be discussed," Richards was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"We have long complained about the finances in cricket. I think it's great for those guys, now that they know financially they can secure their future," he said.
Richards, one of 14 legends on the payroll of Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford and a board member and ambassador for Stanford 2020 in the Caribbean, said with its money power IPL would help Twenty20 cricket grow bigger.
"The sort of money that was attached to cricket did run a lot of people away to try other careers, but now that we have the perks there will be a lot more cricketers trying to hit that jackpot.
"So long as the Indians are going to be on board with the mass audience and power they have in world cricket, it is a great endorsement for the Twenty20 form to go further."
A big fan of Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, Richards said players of his calibre would enhance the glamour of IPL.
"I am a great fan of Andrew Symonds, his fielding and the way in which he plays his cricket, with that sort of aggression. Having people like that on board is certainly going to add to the (IPL) razzmatazz," he said.
The original master blaster said there was nothing wrong in bringing a lot of money to the game as it would be beneficial for the players.
"If it can be arranged I don't think anything would be wrong with that. Others, establishment-wise, see these things sometimes as threatening but I think it must be discussed," Richards was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"We have long complained about the finances in cricket. I think it's great for those guys, now that they know financially they can secure their future," he said.
Richards, one of 14 legends on the payroll of Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford and a board member and ambassador for Stanford 2020 in the Caribbean, said with its money power IPL would help Twenty20 cricket grow bigger.
"The sort of money that was attached to cricket did run a lot of people away to try other careers, but now that we have the perks there will be a lot more cricketers trying to hit that jackpot.
"So long as the Indians are going to be on board with the mass audience and power they have in world cricket, it is a great endorsement for the Twenty20 form to go further."
A big fan of Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, Richards said players of his calibre would enhance the glamour of IPL.
"I am a great fan of Andrew Symonds, his fielding and the way in which he plays his cricket, with that sort of aggression. Having people like that on board is certainly going to add to the (IPL) razzmatazz," he said.
Hyderabad, Chennai IPL's dream teams
New Delhi: The players have been bought, but the big question is who has got the right ones. Powered with the findings of an opinion poll on Cricketnext.com, here's the expert view on who have the best team to go all the way in the IPL.
After a day of hectic buying and selling, everyone is wondering who got the mix right? That may not be easy to answer but the experts reckon some have no chance at all after the players they picked up, like team Jaipur.
"Serendipity. Whatever that lands up on the auction day. We might have picked out a few players and targetted them, but during the course of the auction, if you have been a little off target, there is a possibility of going off balance," VB Chandrasekhar, former India cricketer and selector of the Chennai Super Kings, told CNN-IBN on Saturday's Cricket 360.
Just one per cent of Cricketnext users thought Jaipur would win the league. Bangalore faired a touch better with four per cent, and Mumbai was at nine per cent.
"When you have these iconic players with you, and you pay them loads of money, I think it will call for true professionalism in them, and you have got to make sure that they win," notes former India speedster Javagal Srinath.
But one team that gets the accolades from nearly everyone is Hyderabad, who have Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma among others to call on.
"They have got the best balance because they have got players who can win the game single-handedly," explains former India spinner Maninder Singh.
Cricketnext users tend to agree. Hyderabad, along with Chennai fetched the highest number of votes with 26 per cent.
And the mastermind behind Chennai's selection is in no doubt they have hit the nail on the head. "I would tend to think that it's all ours already," Chandrashekhar beams.
What of the dark horses? Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata and Priety Zinta's Mohali are pretty close; 17 per cent go for Kolkata while 13 per cent back Preity's Mohali. Delhi managed just two per cent.
After a day of hectic buying and selling, everyone is wondering who got the mix right? That may not be easy to answer but the experts reckon some have no chance at all after the players they picked up, like team Jaipur.
"Serendipity. Whatever that lands up on the auction day. We might have picked out a few players and targetted them, but during the course of the auction, if you have been a little off target, there is a possibility of going off balance," VB Chandrasekhar, former India cricketer and selector of the Chennai Super Kings, told CNN-IBN on Saturday's Cricket 360.
Just one per cent of Cricketnext users thought Jaipur would win the league. Bangalore faired a touch better with four per cent, and Mumbai was at nine per cent.
"When you have these iconic players with you, and you pay them loads of money, I think it will call for true professionalism in them, and you have got to make sure that they win," notes former India speedster Javagal Srinath.
But one team that gets the accolades from nearly everyone is Hyderabad, who have Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma among others to call on.
"They have got the best balance because they have got players who can win the game single-handedly," explains former India spinner Maninder Singh.
Cricketnext users tend to agree. Hyderabad, along with Chennai fetched the highest number of votes with 26 per cent.
And the mastermind behind Chennai's selection is in no doubt they have hit the nail on the head. "I would tend to think that it's all ours already," Chandrashekhar beams.
What of the dark horses? Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata and Priety Zinta's Mohali are pretty close; 17 per cent go for Kolkata while 13 per cent back Preity's Mohali. Delhi managed just two per cent.
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