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Come April, the world of cricket will not be the same again when India and millions around the world will wake up to a new event, the Indian Premier League. Meet the man behind the brouhaha and Indian cricket’s poster boy Lalit Modi. In this freewheeling interview to FE’s Pritha Mitra Dasgupta, chairman and commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League shares his dream for Indian sports in general and cricket in particular..

How do you feel when critics say that the BCCI was inactive so far and only when the Indian Cricket League was launched that it fought back with the IPL agenda?

The planning for the DLF Indian Premier League started way back in 1994, when I partnered with ESPN to launch the ESPN channel in India. It was then we started ideating on how India could have a world-class cricketing league to call its own. Kind of like the NBA or the NFL or even the English Premier League. The second idea that I was toying with was how sports and business could be merged for the greater good of the game.

Thus, we at the BCCI studied and worked closely with some of the finest professionals available in the business including IMG to cull out a cricketing league format for us. Even you would appreciate that it takes time to study and evolve a league structure that is appreciated and provides contentment to all stakeholders.

Today we are satisfied that we have created a global cricketing entertainment product, which will generate its strength from the millions of fans as well as sponsors in the future. Had the BCCI been inactive all this while, would we have players like Dhoni, Joginder and Praveen coming up from within the ranks to represent India so spectacularly.

So what took you so long to launch the IPL?

Every product that provides satisfaction and fulfillment to a wide array of stakeholders must be planned and studied thoroughly, keeping in mind their needs and aspirations. The DLF Indian Premier League has been designed after studying each and every probable league in the world. It is only after this preliminary investigation that we have attempted to put together what best suits cricket in the global context.

Thus, you could say that the