India's cricket scandals

A high stakes game

The Indian Premier League loses two teams

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Readers' comments



Good move to clean the IPL.

Modi is an anti-national person as shown by his move to shift IPL-2 from India (statistically one of the safest countries in the world) to South Africa (statistically one of the most unsafe countries in the world) on security reasons. This was the joke of the millennium.

The reason given was that the Central Government refused to provide paramilitary forces. Why does a sporting event need paramilitary forces?

In my opinion, Modi wanted to do his friend, and BJP leader from Rajasthan,Vasundhara Raje Scindhia a favor by tarnishing the image of the central government on the security front. The whole BJP campaign was predicated on the security issue. Despite the efforts by Modi, the ssue failed to resonate with the public.

Kicking an anti-national person like Modi, who is ready to tarnish the name of the country to please friends, is a welcome step.


This is IPL, Indian Premier League. Why do you care what outsiders think. It is a national event and a big money spinner. It has some average cricket played by a multitude of stars over a 6 week period.It has captured the imagination of the indian cricket viewer and will continue to do so.

Did you know that movie releases are held back so that they do not clash with the IPL.


the 1billion crowd could hav been called a nation had it not been india
it kdnt hav made worse out of the opportunity its huge market provides


This is a shame, the IPL with its crowds, TV audiences and money looked like it could become a global league on the par of the NFL, EPL, Serie A etc, and the first such league in Asia. It just needed 5-10 years of smooth stewardship to build up a loyal fanbase for each team (rather than the initial attraction of celebrity glitz) and gain credibility in the cricket and wider sporting world.

First the move to South Africa in the second season (although the IPL can hardly be blamed for this), the exclusion of Pakistani players and now the suspension of Punjab and Rajasthan. The IPL has been attracting attention outside India for the wrong reasons. Perhaps if there had been less focus on politics, money and glitz to start with then later down the line money and genuine sporting glamour would follow more readily.


The ICC should ban politicians from senior positions in cricket like FIFA does. But the president of the ICC himself is a politician!


happyfish18 wrote: Oct 16th 2010 12:23 GMT
Unlike the Anglo Commonwealth athletes, there seem to be no complain from the millionaire Anglo cricketers about the faeces and corruption.

Of course NOT. The money is much more. And it talks :-)

Plus while athletics is a national-istic event this is pretty much individual-istic! Freewill rules. "If u don't like it then don't come here" would be the refrain, I.e. if somebody complains. The same thing couldn't have been said for the CWG as "national pride" was involved cuz of national-istic nature of the event and on top of that, the f$$$$$ govt conducting it I sps. Whilst this event is conducted by a pvt party so no such qualms.


@ Austin_d

"But he has made the most buck in the quickest time too and tax free, and If newspaper reports of him owning a private jet are true then his amassed amount is real huge."

Who cares? Many in India are highly corrupt (waayy more than him!) and are a BIG ZERO when it cones to performance (Kalmadi immediately comes to mind! There are many more). Au contraire Modi's performance and execution was exceptional.

Had a friend of mine from Allahabad in UP who talked in "shuddh" Hindi. He used to tell me that MM Joshi who was a Cabinet Min elected from there had a decent, modest house in a good part of the town that he had from many decades ago. Right opposite his house, there is a new multistorey gargantuan house. And guess what the real kicker is! This guy is only a Counsellor (member of Legislative Council) NOT even an Assemblyman let alone an MP (NOT that the house worth tens of millions would be justified then!) :-)

I digress of course! My point being corruption to India is like apple pie to the US of A.




Lalit Modi comes from an aristocratic business family (owners of Godfrey Phillips, the cigarette maker). While he loves to live the high life, I will give him the benefit of doubt, until some hard conclusive evidence is revealed.

But what one must remember: IPL is Lalit Modi's baby. When the teams were being auctioned I remember discussing in office why so many people are taking such a bold gamble. After all domestic cricket in India had been a complete flop.

But Lalit Modi knew better. He even managed to move the tournament to S Africa at short notice when the govt. refused to provide security for the teams and venue.

The people in charge of the BCCI are totally corrupt. They have done absolutely nothing for the sport in the country - not even built a decent stadium with all the money at their disposal (thanks in large part to Modi). They are simply jealous of Modi's achievement.


@commonsensical "Lalit Modi mite b no saint but atleast he made IPL click"



IPL has become Indian Political League. Business men with an intention to make quick buck entered the ground by bribing BCCI officials and others. Business rivalry turned the royal game into a crooked one. Cricket is now a money spinning game . Politicians sided with those who paid a high premium for their support. Nepotism and favoritism are not a recent origin in Indian politics. Master mind Modi had a vision to make high profits by manipulation , cheating and embezzlement. He had many problems while in US but his rich father bribed Indian politicians, who pleaded for his release and brought him back to India


I don't know about these couple of teams.

But I think the League itself will overall do fine.

There is just too much money for it to be otherwise (I think!).

BCCi will be ultimately bought off. Everyone has a price especially in India!

AB ve

Here is why most of the (business/political/sports/film) leaders in India don;t write a book. Because there is some or the other scandal behind success.
This is no exception, rumors were there from the very beginning. I wonder how The Economist missed it.

I have started missing the intelligent questions in the articles of this paper. Thanks to intelligent readers who post informed comments, I still keep reading.


Well Lalit Modi mite b no saint but atleast he made IPL click!

Far from what can be said about corrupt inefficient BCCI goons who run a "protection racket" under the power of the government!


Why cannot India organize any world class event without some kind of scandal in it? IPL with Lalit Modi CWG with Suresh Kalmadi are 2 such examples.
Having business interests in 3 out of 8 IPL franchises, Lalit Modi is no saint and he knows that.
What defies logic is why both of them(Kalmadi and Lalit Modi) choose to be the face of these events. Ridiculous.


160 million a year for 10 years, that is a smart deal for Sony to sponsor the most popular sport in India.



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