It has been with a lot of fascination that i have been watching and reading the Modigate/IPLgate that has grabbed the collective imagination of the nation. The sweet li’l tweetings and everything that followed has been immensely more fascinating than the spectacle of IPL itself. Without getting into any of the murky dealings that Modi has been accused of, ranging from fabricated bidding, granting rights to friends and relatives, match-fixing, betting, parties, money laundering, ownership in teams and other such stories, i would only want to say that Modi has managed to create, during a time-frame which goes into mere planning at a number of corporate and government bodies, an entity which is worth a few billion dollars, and a body which throws a nation out of gear for close to 2 months every year. To bring about a somewhat alien concept of commercial club league to India, and succeeding in creating something so brilliant, that each and every critic got silenced, is a mark of genius. And in Lalit Modi’s defense, his perspective needs to be listened to. I am more than 100% sure that there are some murky secrets and vested interests of BCCI officials, UPA ministers, NCP ministers and a few others, who have all collaborated to ensure BCCI puts the entire blame on one individual, in the hope that other more powerful people do not get exposed. But if my judgment of Modi is correct, he will not remain silent. He has so far lost more than anyone else, and when drowning, he will ensure he takes a few others down. I hope he does. As that will perhaps help people realize how politicians have been sleeping with sports in this country for way too long, and the same set who are crying illegality and immorality in all of Modi’s dealings, have been doing the same, and much more, through their lives. And if the nexus does not get exposed now, it will perhaps continue the same way for a few more years to come. Until a Modi-like chap comes again, and manages to do the unthinkable. A man so supremely confident of his vision and his ability, that nothing can stop him from beating all odds, and achieving the vision he set out for. I wish there were more such administrators in India, or at least in Indian sports. Perhaps not be as flamboyant and as counter-establishment as Modi was, but those who have the balls to stay by their vision, and go out and make it happen.

There are strong rumors in the Indian media suggesting that Mr. Lalit Modi, who has converted IPL into a multi-billion dollar enterprise, is all set to be given charge of turning around CWG Delhi 2010. Senior officials of CWG were unavailable for comment.

what an interesting story on business standard! SRK planning to cash out on his KKR investment of 300 crores, and looking to net as much in profit..in only the 2nd season! gosh where’s all that trash about being serious in cricket, and buying for a long term plan etc gone now? in the end, its just about the money honey? almost like indian business groups applying for national telecom licenses, and all they needed was 1000 odd crore with them, in the big hope that a global major would buy out the license soon after they win it..remember unitech? so now, it would be tempting if anil ambani buys them out…BIG Riders, would it be? Or would it be BIG Indians? tempting…with sahara and nokia also being talked to, lets see who ends up as the new owners…but given the chemistry between ambani and sahara…it may end up as BIG Sahara…..KKR ko kaafi sahare ki zaroorat bhi hai!!
if only BCCI does not play spoilsport for Shah rukh khan, and decides to expand the number of teams next year to 16, 4 of which will be international teams….wait and watch!

i’ve said this earlier, and am willing to shout out yet again. vodafone has done a brilliant job of unleashing its zoozoo on the indian audience, this IPL. some positives for me:
1. voda continues to evolve, in its quest for marketing moksha, displayed so brilliantly earlier through hutch campaigns, and after the yummy happy to help campaigns of ipl 2008, they’ve gone a step further through their stunning series of zoozoo ads..and to think that only 10 have been released so far, with 15 more to go by the time IPL 2009 ends..yummy
2. finally, marketers in india have realized the impact a good tournament or tv event can make, and voda chose to launch its campaign when it knew tv audience will peak, as it did in 2008. excellent strategy.
3. voda is supplementing the zoozoo craze well, through facebook…with 8000 fans already (i remember 5000 fans yesterday..) the social media is being used adequately well to sustain the interest…in fact i got to know of the species name thru facebook
4. there’s not much to do this summer in india…with the producers and multiplex slugging it out, with heat piling on to our collective agony, the regular tv shows getting on to the nerves as usual…..and in between comes the big hope yet again, as it did last year and blew away every other channel…its probably going to end up the same this year too…fortune has favored the brave…and in the midst of all this, vodafone has managed to release a campaign which actually brings in more smiles and better entertainment that the histrionics being played out on the field! commendable.