Former IPL chairperson and millionaire Lalit Modi has backed his role in the creation of the IPL, and has rued his expulsion from the organising committee and executive board of the league.
The Indian Premier League, founded in 2008, is often credited as Modi’s brainchild, as he came up with the idea and pitched it to the BCCI. The league amalgamated cricket and entertainment together, setting in motion the wheel of franchise leagues taking over the cricket ecosystem.
Speaking of the creation of the league, Modi recalled the hours of extensive research he went through before putting everything together and backs himself to find similar success if he is able to redo it in this day and age.
“It (The idea of IPL) just didn’t come out of thin air. It went through a lot of scientific research and a lot of learnings of mine. Everybody around the world has tried to create what I created and failed. When people say, I made a mistake, I didn’t make a mistake. If I had to ever do this again, it wouldn’t be any different from what I did last time,” Modi said, speaking to Wisden for The Scoop Extended.
But fortune did not favour Modi, as he was suspended by the BCCI over concerns regarding financial irregularities and misconduct after the third season of the tournament in 2010. He was later expelled and banned for life by the board, which forced him to quit local cricket administration as well.
Modi expressed his regret at not b eing able to fulfil certain objectives he had set, and rues not being more stern with his demands regarding his involvement in the functioning of the league.
“I regretted the fact that I left India without doing certain things that had to be done. The founder of the IPL should always get a seat on the board of the league, I gave too much power to the BCCI. I could have dictated at the time what I wanted because everybody thought it’s gonna fail. They didn’t really care about it, I had already written the constitution of a separate company being formed. Obviously, BCCI would continue to get the money but the governance of the league should have been in partnership with the IPL owners along with the BCCI.”
The IPL, in its 19th season, has evolved into a global sporting phenomenon and has set records in terms of earnings, viewership, and broadcast deals. Returning to the sporting side, the 2026 season saw the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru become the third team to successfully defend their title with a five-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.
