The story of how a billion-dollar cricketing behemoth almost stayed locked away in a dusty drawer
Back in 1995, when denim jackets and cassette players ruled the streets, a young businessman from North Carolina carried an idea across continents. Lalit Modi, inspired by the NBA's booming success, had a plan to transform Indian cricket into a city-based carnival.
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His pitch to the BCCI was simple — make cricket a franchise-based showbiz. Private owners, foreign stars, floodlit matches. It sounded futuristic, even reckless, to the suits who managed Indian cricket back then. As a result, the idea was quietly parked.
The engines were ready, but the roads were not built yet.
For thirteen long years, Modi's blueprint gathered dust. Meanwhile, Indian cricket shifted gears. Television contracts expanded, viewership soared, and the country's economy sprinted into a new century. Still, the idea of selling cricket to private hands felt like handing over the Taj Mahal for a song.
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The BCCI, cautious as ever, kept the keys close to its chest. But outside the boardrooms, storm clouds were gathering. A rebel league—the Indian Cricket League (ICL)—had begun to chip away at cricket's traditional walls. It was messy and loud, but it was exactly the push Modi needed.
In 2007, MS Dhoni's young Indian team brought home the inaugural T20 World Cup trophy. Along with it, they introduced a format the country didn't know it desperately needed.
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Suddenly, cricket wasn't just five days of patience or one day of strategies; it became three hours of fireworks, energy, and rollercoaster rides. T20 cricket caught India's imagination by the collar. The BCCI, sensing the change in the wind, dusted off Modi's proposal. The timing was perfect.
In a country already addicted to cricket, T20 was like coffee served with rocket fuel.
On January 24, 2008, history was auctioned off. The BCCI had set a total base price of $400 million for eight city-based teams. When the final gavel came down, the bids soared to $723.59 million—a windfall beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance splashed out $111.9 million for Mumbai.
Vijay Mallya bought Bengaluru for $111.6 million. Bollywood crashed the party, too: Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment acquired Kolkata for $75.09 million, while Preity Zinta's team bought Mohali for $76 million.
Cricket had found its glitz. And it was selling faster than hot samosas at a Sunday fair.
The tournament, spanning 44 exhilarating days, gave cricket a facelift. Fifty-nine matches, packed stadiums, a feast of international stars alongside rising Indian hopefuls.
At the players' auction, icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh were treated like royalty, receiving a 15% pay bump over their teammates. MS Dhoni became the most expensive player, snatched up by Chennai Super Kings for a staggering $1.5 million.
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Meanwhile, young talents like Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja entered through the Under-19 draft, unknowingly embarking on careers that would forever change cricket.
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And when Rajasthan Royals lifted the inaugural trophy after beating Chennai Super Kings, the IPL was no longer just a league. It was a revolution that had waited thirteen years to take flight.
