Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi, full name Lalit Kumar Modi, (born November 29, 1963) is the Chairman and Commissioner of Indian Premier League, Chairman of Champions League, President and Managing director Modi Enterprises, President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, Vice President of BCCI, Vice President of Punjab Cricket Association, Executive Director of Godfrey Philips India and Director of Various Modi Group Companies.

Biography

Born in 1963 in Delhi, India, Lalit Kumar Modi studied at Bishop Cotton. He attended Duke University in the United States, graduating in 1986 with a degree in marketing. [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=agXm3oIJqEUA]

Modi is the Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier league and president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, and Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Punjab Cricket Association. He holds the position of Commissioner in the Indian Premier League. He is credited with the creation, idea and success of the IPL. He is the scion of Modi Enterprises, a multi Billion Dollar group, the industrial conglomerate founded in 1933, it has interests in agro-chemicals, tobacco, tea and beverages, education, entertainment and Real estate. He also sits on the board of Godfrey Philips, one of India's tobacco companies. [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/player/242443.html Cricinfo - Players and Officials - Lalit Modi ] ] There are roumers that Lalit Modi has purchased a new private jet (VT-RAK) so that he can fly from match to match during the IPL and other seasons.

Drug Possession

Lalit Modi was charged and pleaded guilty to possession of 400 grams of cocaine, assault and kidnapping in 1985 while he was a student at Duke University, USA. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison, however he did not serve any prison time and came back to India in 1986 after being released on probation.

In 2007 a PIL was filed in Mumbai High court challenging his position in BCCI on pretext of his criminal history. Though the court refused to unseat Modi, it asked the BCCI "to implement stringent regulatory measures so that those involved in criminal cases, not just illegal drugs but other serious charges have no place in administration".

But unsurprisingly BCCI paid no heed to the court's advice. [http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/ipl/news/news_20080528_607.html] [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=2627fc29-733a-486b-bcf0-06935f38808fIPL2008_Special&MatchID1=55&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=7&MatchType1=5&SeriesID1=1&PrimaryID=55&IsCricket=true&Headline=Drug+rap+returns+to+haunt+IPL+boss+Modi Hindustan Times] ]

Power-struggles

In 2005, Modi figured in a power struggle that resulted in Sharad Pawar, an influential politician and national cabinet minister, ousting former Indian cricket supremo and International Cricket Council chief Jagmohan Dalmiya in Board of Control for Cricket in India elections.

Awards and Recognitions

He was awarded " The Buisness Standard Award for Making BCCI the Most Innovative Company in India for the year 2008".On Sep 25th 2008 he was awarded " Brand Builder of the Year" by Asia Brand Conference". On Sep 26th 2008 he was awarded by CNBC Awaaz " The Consumer Award for Transforming Cricket in India"On Oct 6th 2008 he was awarded by NDTV Profit " The Most Innovative Buisness Leader in India "

He was listed among India's 20 most powerful people by India Today magazine. He was included because the BCCI's revenues have increased seven-fold since he joined the board in 2005 and because "no one in cricket wants to be on his wrong side". He is known to be a cricket administrator! [ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/07/1204780070687.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 The tycoon who changed cricket - Cricket - Sport - theage.com.au ] ] In the 2008 August issue of the leading sports magazine Sports Pro he is ranked number 17 in the Power List of Global figures connected with sports. He is further hailed as the Best Rain Maker (money maker) for any sports body in the history of sports Globally. In the short time that he has been a sports administrator he has raised over four billion U.S. Dollars for his organisation. All this he has done in an Honorary Capacity. He has been described as the most powerful man in Cricket by Mike atherton in his article in the Telegraph. Time Magazines July 2008, Lists him no 16 in there listing of Best Sports Executives in the World for 2008. In the October 2008 issue of international Buisness magazine Buisness Week - Lalit Modi was voted no 19 in the list of 25 most powerful Global Sports figures.Lalit Modi also won the NDTV award for the Most Innovative Buisness Leader of India.

Advertesments

Lalit Modi was recently featured in a advertesement for the telecom major Tata Indicom (Suno Dil Ki Awaz).

$975m ESPN deal

Economic Times quoted [http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Media__Entertainment_/Media/ESPN_strikes_975m_deal_for_T20_league/articleshow/3473205.cms] :cquote
Cricket economics has once again hit the roof. Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has paid a staggering $975 million for exclusive global commercial rights for the Twenty20 Champions League for a 10-year period, starting with the inaugural tournament between December 3-10 this year.

The deal, which gives ESS rights for all T20 Champions League seasons until 2017, makes it the highest cricket tournament by value on a per game basis. Earlier this year, the World Sports Group-Sony Entertainment consortium had paid BCCI $918 million for 10-year global rights for the India Premier League (IPL).

Apart from ESS, bids were received from Abu Dhabi Sports Club and Dubai Investment Council (DIC). While the DIC bid was for $751.3 million, Abu Dhabi Sports Club’s bid, being a conditional one, was disqualified. ESS had bid $900 million for the deal and an additional $75 million for marketing.

Twenty20 Champions League, modelled after the football champions league, would feature the best teams of the domestic Twenty20 tournaments in various countries. It is being jointly organised by the Indian, Australian and South African cricket boards. The inaugural league, with $6-million prize money, will feature eight teams — two each from India, Australia and South Africa and the champions from the England and Pakistan domestic leagues. The prize money will be shared between the teams and their players.

“This deal will cement our relationship with BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa and we are committed to setting new benchmarks in broadcast and distribution,” ESS MD Manu Sawhney said in a statement. IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said: “We believe this is the best commercial deal for Champions League.”

Many other news-sources also reported the deal, including Business Standard [http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=334250] and others [http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/sports/espn-star-sports-bags-975-m-t20-deal-for-10-yrs/20/01/356037] [http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008091217068] .

Other Deals

Since Modi's joining the BCCI he has successfully concluded the following deals for the BCCI :1. Team Sponsership Deal for Team India with Sahara group for 4 years - 103 million dollars (415 Crores) on 20.12.052. Team Apparel Sponser Deal for Team India with Nike for 4 year - 53 million dollars (215 Crores) on 24.12.053. Media Rights Deal with Nimbus for 4 years- 612 million dollars on 18.2.064. Media Rights for overseas matches with Zee for 4 years - 219 million dollars 0n 7.4.065. Bcci Sponsership Deal with WSG - 46 million dollars (173 Crores) on 27.8.076. IPL Media Rights Deal with Sony - 1.26 Billion Dollars 0n 15.1.087. IPL Teams Sale with various parties -723.6 million Dollars on 25.01.088. Web Media Rights to Live current Media - 50 million dollars on 18.4.089. IPL Title sponsership and Ground sponsors - 220 million dollars - mar-apr 2008

Reactions

Cricinfo

Cricinfo says [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/242443.html] :cquote
Sharp, brash, ruthlessly ambitious, and admired and reviled in equal measure, Lalit Modi will be known as the man who changed the landscape of cricket. The Indian Premier League, the multi-million-dollar, football-style, franchise-based domestic league, which Modi conceived and executed with spectacular success, has hurtled cricket to the fast lane, forcing the traditionalists to follow suit even while squirming. The tournament, first held in 2008, consolidated India's position as cricket's economic powerhouse, and consequently, its premier agenda-setter.

Modi's rise to the top rung of Indian cricket has been as fast as it has been stunning. Scion of a leading Indian business family, he began his career as an adversary of the Indian cricket board in the early 90s when he was trying to build a business out of distributing sports pay channels. He knew even then that live sports was one of the few things the Indian television consumer would pay for but soon realised the best way to beat the system was to join it. However, it was not until 2005, when he became the youngest vice-president of the BCCI, that he came into prominence. He soon became the driving force of the board's commercial activities and pushed its revenues over the US$1 billion mark. His abrasive and confrontational approach -­ among other things, he accused the ICC of harbouring a neo-colonial bias -­ didn't win him many friends in international cricket, but both he and his adversaries are acutely aware of this: where there is money, there is muscle.

CNN

CNN quotes [http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/05/22/ta.modi/index.html#cnnSTCText] :cquote
Former England cricket captain Michael Atherton has called him "ruthless," but for Lalit Modi, the man behind cricket's revolutionary Indian Premier League and vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), this is less of a criticism and more a statement of fact.

"I am ruthless, without doubt," he told CNN's Talk Asia in Mumbai.

"Otherwise we wouldn't get where we were."

After graduating from Duke University in the U.S. in sports management he returned to India to launch ESPN and 10 Sports.

Coming from a family that controls Modi Enterprise, an industrial conglomerate worth $1.5 billion, Modi admits his family were concerned that he was moving away from business and spending so much time with cricket while setting up the IPL.

"They didn't think that I'll be spending so much time with cricket, and cricket has taken up so much time of my time, but the job has made it so demanding. Either I do it well, and if I do it well then I need to give the time for it," he told CNN.

It's been time well spent, both professionally and personally: Modi flies in a private jet, gets mobbed in the streets by fans and can hang out with Bollywood stars.

Modi was not without controversy himself, as he was accused of drug dealing and abduction while at university, claims that were never proven.

But for Modi, it's quite simple: "We've hit records in viewership, record numbers in sponsorships sales, record number in team franchise sales, the owner themselves have done so well, the stadiums are full. We got Bollywood involved, I mean it's a script that I couldn't have written better myself."

Personal Life & Family

At many of the IPL games you see Modi with his son (name?) who wears a Rajasthan Royals Shirt if they are playing, his wife Minal Modi is rarely spotted with him at the games. He lives a very lavish life with his wife and children in the suburbs of Mumbai in his beach house. [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/05/22/ta.modi/index.html] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2335008/Modi-masterminds-India%27s-billion-dollar-bonanza.html] [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/05/22/ta.modi/index.html] [ [http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/ipl/news/news_20080528_607.html Drug rap returns to haunt IPL boss Modi- Live Cricket News | Latest Cricket News Headlines – Yahoo! India News ] ] [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=2627fc29-733a-486b-bcf0-06935f38808fIPL2008_Special&MatchID1=55&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=7&MatchType1=5&SeriesID1=1&PrimaryID=55&IsCricket=true&Headline=Drug+rap+returns+to+haunt+IPL+boss+Modi Hindustan Times] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2335008/Modi-masterminds-India%27s-billion-dollar-bonanza.html]

ee also

*Indian Cricket League
*Indian Premier League
*Twenty20 Champions League
*Twenty20 Cup

References