#360View: Lalit Modi’s plan poses credible threat to ICC

Ajit Vijaykumar 09:39 11/08/2015
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  • Lalit Modi wants to do away with ODI cricket under a new governing body.

    So Lalit Modi has not been just enjoying the sights during his exile in London. He has actually been planning to shake the very foundation of world cricket as we know it.


    Knowing Modi and the way he was unceremoniously sacked from his post as the Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner, you wouldn’t expect anything less than a full-blown attack on those who cast him aside.

    On the face of it, Modi’s plans to launch a parallel governing body that only has Test and T20 cricket on its roster and that is ‘aligned to the Olympic movement’ sounds extremely ambitious.

    The boards of India, England and Australia will simply smother any sign of rebellion within their territory, they say. The money that these three generate basically runs world cricket so the rest of the nations won’t dare upset the cart, it’s argued. But that is not the crux of the issue.

    Modi’s main target is getting top players on board and then sorting issues like venues later on. One must remember that when the World Series Cricket was launched by Kerry Packer and Indian Cricket League by the Essel Group, they had the likes of Tony Greig and Kapil Dev respectively on board, which lent a lot of weight to their case.

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    It’s difficult not to see reports of Australian players Michael Clarke and David Warner being offered $50 million contracts to play in a parallel T20 tournament apparently being floated by the Essel Group and join the dots.

    Warner said it’s difficult to ignore so much hard cash. Is it possible Modi and Essel owner Subhash Chandra, who were on opposite sides when the ICL was not recognised by the BCCI, have joined forces?

    Even if that is not the case, Modi’s plans pose a credible threat to the cricketing order. The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to take Modi’s revelations seriously as he touches upon some very vital topics. Firstly, he talks about being associated with the Olympic movement.

    Given the reluctance of the three big boards, cricket won’t be seen at the Olympics in the present scenario. However, if Modi offers money plus a chance to win an Oly-mpic medal, his tournament could gain recognition from nations. They might not be big names like India or Australia but, hypothetically speaking, USA or Italy which do have a cricketing structure.

    What works against the three bigwigs and the ICC is the Associate teams have been marginalised. Their participation at events like the World Cup has been made tougher with the ICC making it a 10-team event, down from 14. In such a case, what’s stopping, say, Afghanistan from joining whatever league Modi forms? They are not exactly rolling in money now.

    The ICC has all but handed over the reins to India, Australia and England and all cricketing decisions are almost directly benefiting the three.

    The Future Tours Programme has no validity anymore and hardly any bilateral series is worth much without one of them involved.

    The current cricketing world, for all practical purposes, has to wait in line while those in power decide among themselves who get what and how much. So if a Modi comes in and tells the rest of the world that he has money and can guarantee matches, stars and Olympic participation, can those on the fringes say no?

    And don’t forget, this is the same Modi who shifted the entire IPL from India to South Africa in two weeks in 2009. So if he says he can do it, the ICC better take notice.

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