Looking at the names of the new team (and some of the older ones), the logos, etc.. I feel IPL has lot all its glamour and innovation. Lalit Modi was really good and without him its all lackluster.
Modi was good. However, cannot attribute the glamour quotient to him. In the initial days, the number of superstars associated with IPL teams was huge. South Indian, Bollywood actors, etc. I also remember that Modi had sold 2 additional franchisees (subsequently scrapped - Pune & Ahmedabad to Saif Ali Khan & Videocon). Yes, the man was a visionary, but to entirely put the glamour onto him- not right.
Like I said in another thread, the IPL itself ripped off a lot from the ICL rebel league and quite frankly I remember being embarrassed at how much the big bully BCCI copied from a rebel league with much less funding and facilities. Slowly this memory has faded from public memory. Lalit Modi simply copied a formula and added stuff on top. Seems a lot of people have forgotten.
Most of the discussion around the IPL in this thread is spot on. There's always the ICL v IPL debate, but as someone pointed out, the BCCI was working on a league system in Indian cricket. Infact, Lalit Modi had registered the
company Indian Cricket League Limited- a franchisee model , however, this was to be on the lines of a 50 over tournament then.
The BCCI was initially opposed to the concept of T20. The win in 2007 did change their outlook as they saw the monies that could be made from the game. The Subash Chandra run ICL could very well have bee integrated into the main event. However, the BCCI, at that time , was involved in a nasty TV rights issue with ZEE. ZEE had originally bid and won the rights from Star (thought to be impossible back then)- This surprised many at the BCCI as they were certain that an Indian TV network without a sporting channel could possibly not broadcast+telecast quality cricket. It was then that Subhash Chandra launched the ICL (trying to be India's Kerry Packer). He actually thought that they could get Indian cricket rights for an eternity. However, the BCCI was too strong time(Thank God!)
The combination of India's 2007 win, blacklisting of ZEE, ICC's verdict on declaring the ICL as unofficial, Supreme Court intervention on the TV rights issue meant that the BCCI was free to run its own tournament (plus, they had all the marquee players).
. BCCI being BCCI was opposed to T20. Saw how T20 went and craze of it. However BCCI had at that time planned on franchise league (not T20). Lalit Modi was asked to do something about it. They saw the popularity of T20 WC, India winning, people talking and boom that franchised league became IPL behind closed door. ICL started and was so good that BCCI had to twist Zee's arm.
