Having been re-elected as Rajasthan Cricket Association President, Lalit Modi has publicly said he is determined to fight his way into the BCCI and take on incumbent president N Srinivasan is what is likely to be a 15-round slug fest.
Modi has styled himself as cricket’s White Knight against the dark forces of Srinivasan and his coterie but he isn’t exactly a saint and had his share of critics while he was running the IPL. He also happens to be banned for the life by the board, though how much of that is down to politics vs actual crimes is unclear.
In any case, it was Modi who set the BCCI down the path of commercialising everything – the strategic time-out anyone? – and therefore it is arguably Modi’s legacy Srinivasan is carrying on by arm-twisting the ICC into giving the BCCI a much greater share of ICC revenue than it received in the past.
Lalit Modi is determined to take on N Srinivasan. Getty Images
Both men also like to be the decision-makers, whether is behind the curtain like Srinivasan or in front of the camera like Modi.
Yet there is a crucial area where Modi does score over Srinivasan. Tamil Nadu has never won the Ranji Trophy in Srinivasan’s dozen years as Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president. Modi, on the other hand, built state-of-the-art infrastructure for the RCA and under his stewardship, Rajasthan went from playing in the Plate Division to winning back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles.
Players raved about Modi’s approach. It wasn’t just his commitment to improving the facilities but they knew he backed them and they would get a fair shake. Selection was not subject to politics and the whims of those in power. Modi understood a winning team would automatically made him look good as an administrator.
“Without the facilities the Rajasthan team cannot go anywhere,” he told ESPNcricinfo in an interview after the election results were announced. “During my time the team was enjoying the facilities; we were recruiting youngsters and developing them at the RCA academy right from their mid-teens. Some of them have grown to become good players. We have good talent but to enhance that you need the facilities up and running, good coaches and staff, and that is my job as an administrator.”
While Srinivasan had made sure the players are well paid, he does not seem to care much for how the Tamil Nadu team does in India’s premier domestic competition. Or how India does. He measures success by the size of his wallet, as he made clear in the affidavit he filed with the Supreme Court explaining why he should be back as BCCI president.
According to his own sworn statement, Srinivasan stated his greatest achievement was the revamp of the ICC that generated more revenue for the BCCI. For him, the money appears to be is an end in itself, not a tool with which to improve the quality of the sport. It is how he was able to shrug off India losing 0-8 in England and Australia in 2011-12. And since the success or failure of the Indian team does not affect how much revenue is made from TV and sponsorship deals, it is not something he believes anyone should be concerned about. After all, the wheel will eventually turn.
Modi, in his time as IPL chairman, was also much more approachable than Srinivasan. He even hired a camera to follow him around during the IPL season so he would always be visible. He understood image projection, which is something the current lot clearly does not.
Should he therefore manage to unseat Srinivasan from the president’s chair – something that has proved to be impossible to this point – there is a chance Indian cricket could in fact be better off than it is now.
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