Brand IPL, many say, is in peril. With the spat between the BCCI and Lalit Modi showing no signs of settling, the future of the cash-rich league, India?s only global sports brand, is suddenly in question. The fight between Modi and his friends-turned-foes seems to have sullied the image of the IPL beyond repair. However, once delved deep, there is little doubt that the IPL, the property itself, goes far beyond an individual?s whim and that the institution of Indian cricket is surely much more resilient and capable than we hold it to be at moments of crisis. IPL, it must be asserted, continues to be a mega successful brand. Even when the spat was spouting lava by the minute, the fans, the single-most important constituent in making the IPL successful, continued to embrace it and throng the grounds in thousands. DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai was full for the final between the Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians, even though the BCCI honchos decided to give it a miss.

Brand IPL, I assert at the outset, will survive. Rather, I look at the present imbroglio as an opportunity, one to clean up the wrong in the competition and ensure that it continues to help strengthen the foundations of Indian cricket. For example, with Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and MAK Pataudi empowered to take decisions on the workings of the IPL, it is inevitable that cricket, the game, will benefit at the cost of the razzmatazz and the glitz–off-field events that were gradually tending to overwhelm the on-field action. Post-match parties, a disgustingly ugly innovation of the former IPL czar, one that can only damage Indian cricket and cricketers, will soon be history. These parties, sites of sleaze and possible corruption, have little relevance for the game itself and only contribute to bring in some extra cash. The problem with the Modi dispensation was that in their burning desire to bring in as much money as possible, they were even tending to sacrifice the game. Sanity then, one expects, will be restored.

If one closely observes the EPL or the MLB, two extremely successful leagues that the IPL was initially modeled on, it is apparent that there was a need for cleansing. None of these leagues have near compulsory after-match parties, none of them allow owners and friends into the dugouts and the players? dressing rooms in both these cases remain sanctified fortresses. The sport itself in these leagues remains paramount, even if their value hasn?t grown with the same verve as in the case of the IPL. They are exemplars of pedigreed wealth rather than sites for a brazen show of monetary might. In both these leagues, the decision making continues to be democratic, unlike in the IPL, and the fans, it must be acknowledged, are treated as the ultimate arbiter. These leagues are for the fans rather than for the rich and famous, as the IPL was turning out to be.

In 2009, the T-20 world cup started within days of the IPL coming to an end. Given the timing, there was much talk about the tournament?s fate. The question was whether the fans had already had enough of T-20 action? To everyone?s surprise, Lords was packed for most games and the tournament was a huge success. The point to be made here is that the success of the IPL depends on the viability of the format and on the quality of cricket played rather than on Lalit Modi or the BCCI. The fans will always throng the grounds to watch a Sachin Tendulkar classic even if the BCCI and Mr Modi decide on continuing their off-field antics. As Ravi Shastri very eloquently put it, “Take the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony out. As long as you have quality cricket games being played, you will have quality crowds.” The opening and closing ceremonies, the music and dancing, the fashion parades, etc, are at best frills that the gourmet dish is hardly dependent on. The dressing only makes the dish looks better; it hardly alters the taste.

Rather, if the BCCI is able to live up to its promise of transparency and clean up the mess, the controversy may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It is now upon the BCCI to ensure that the fans don?t lose confidence in the property itself and continue to support it in season four in ways they have done in seasons one, two and three. Frankly, the fan isn?t worried about whether the telecast deal rakes in the $1.64 billion that it is doing or it goes back to its original figure of $ 918 million, the amount for which the rights were sold in season one. These absurd amounts of money have little relevance for the viewer, who wishes to watch the best players play and the best men and women commentate. It?s the Wayne Rooneys and Didier Drogbas who make the EPL, they are the ones we watch rather than the individual team owners and administrators. In fact, one simple quiz question is enough to demonstrate the problem with the IPL: how many of my readers know the names of the leading administrators of the EPL and how many know the name of Lalit Modi? The answer is a given. Modi was getting bigger than the brand or, more aptly, bigger than cricket. For the sake of the game itself, he had to go.

A prediction is in order in the midst of this crisis. However much Modi drags the BCCI to court or however much the BCCI tries to victimise Modi, in the ultimate analysis these things hardly matter. They might make incessant breaking news for more than a month, but the health of our great game doesn?t depend on these men, who unfailingly continue to think that they are the game?s arbiters. Despite the autonomy, the BCCI, it must be acknowledged, discharges a public function and it is the billion-plus Indian cricket fans who are the custodians of the IPL. They have given their favorite soaps and serials a miss in supporting the tournament. They are the ones who have spent their last rupee in trying to catch a glimpse of the action and they are the one who will make IPL season four a success. An indication of this was evident at the launch of the new team, the Sahara Pune Warriors. As many as 30,000 people were present to cheer the franchise as it launched its logo in Pune on April 24. It is only natural most of them will dance in the turnstiles when Sahara debuts in the competition in 2011, when IPL returns with or without Modi.

Lalit Modi, amidst all his brazenness, hit the nail on the head when he designated the league as the Indian people?s league. Only he understood it a tad too late. Had he not brought the game into disrepute by triggering off events of the last two weeks, his contribution over the last three years would have made him a legend. Not because he brought in money, but because the fans thought so. Only, public memory is fickle and Modi has undone most of the good by placing himself above his own creation. The future is bright, with or without Modi and with or without the egos of the BCCI honchos. The IPL is ours and we the fans will ensure it remains so for all times to come.

?The writer is a cricket historian