 Propriety, the correctness of behaviour or morals, as defined by the Oxford dictionary OR Propriety, the convenient interpretation of utilising public offices for personal gain, as defined by the powers to be? Lalit Modi, the enterprising genius who single-handedly engineered a sporting spectacle to match nothing the cricket world had seen OR Lalit Modi, the egoistic Commissioner of IPL, who developed the format though a series of front holdings and gave away contracts for kick-backs? Shashi Tharoor, a clean politician with an impeccable international record OR Shashi Tharoor, a conniving politician who attempted to use his ministerial office for own profit?
Sharad Pawar, a highly respected and longstanding political leader OR a leader who knowingly turned a blind eye to the corruption surrounding IPL? Praful Patel, a helpful and diligent Aviation Minister with no cricketing interests OR a minister who pursued a hidden agenda, with his daughter in the thick of IPL things? Sunandha Pushkar, an innocent professional caught in the game of politics OR a front for Shashi Tharoor’s holdings in Kochi?
Shashi Tharoor chats with Lalit Modi |
In a week where actual cricket action came next to the action off the field, the image of most celebrated cricketing enterprise had been sullied, perhaps irretrievably. And along with it, the reputation of many people involved in it, directly or indirectly, rightly or wrongly.
“Who are the shareholders of Rendezvous. And why have they been given this 100's of million dollar bonanza ? Rendezvous free equity - held by Kisan, Shailender & Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal”
This late night tweet by Lalit Modi has triggered one of crickets greatest controversies, next probably to only the Packer series and the match fixing scandals. The first victim was Shashi Tharoor, for his alleged involvement for gain in the Kochi franchisee,and was asked to resign. Then came the Income Tax raids on the offices of IPL and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the grilling of Lalit Modi. This was followed by the Enforcement Directorate getting involved and a well co-ordinated effort by the IT deparment to simultaneously raid offices of all the franchisees in different cities. And with it has come along the multitude of reports and speculations.
Dilhara Fernando |
Broadcasting rights given to World Sports Group (WSG) and later to Multi Screen Media (MSM), with a facilitation fee of $80 million paid by MSM to WSG raised questions on pay-offs, with a large part of this money speculated to have been routed back to IPL management. The team holdings and the source of funding are also being questioned, with unconfirmed reports stating that the holding pattern in some of the franchises was structured such that, while majority was with the actual owners, some part of the holdings may actually be, in proxy, with the IPL management and even politicians, through front companies using tax havens like Mauritius, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. Franchises like Kolkatta Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab were under the cloud of investigation. The most troubling murmur, which kept growing through the week, were of alleged match fixing for by some of the players, one unsubstantiated report stating that upto 27 players activities were being investigated.
Add to all this, the posturing of Lalit Modi with the BCCI top brass, his imminent ouster from IPL and the opposition parties in Parliament taking on the government over corruption issues meant that the semi-finals and glitzy awards night all faded into the background. Modi’s future is of particular interest as he enjoys wide spread support with the franchise owners and has driven the tournament with incredible zest and energy. His request for extension of the IPL Governing Council meet for the 26th April has not been met favourably thus far by the BCCI, and all indications are that it will also see him being relieved of his position. But Lalit Modis current stand, as on Twitter last evening was defiant “People pressurising me to resign - I can tell you that will not happen. Let them remove me then. What we have done has been there for all of you to see for the past 4 years. No one can take that away.”
It is clear that from a runaway hit to a damaged product, IPL has taken a fall. Can it recover? Will there be an honest clean up? Or will there be, in usual fashion, an attempt to cover-up and get on with it?
While the coming days will no doubt provide some answers, the real excitement for cricket lovers comes over the prospect of the Chennai Superkings Vs Mumbai Indian finals on Sunday. With Sachin Tendulkar most likely unfit to play with an injured finger, and the semi-final results being largely influenced by the bowlers, the focus is definitely on Srilankan bowlers who will have a big role to play – Murali for Chennai, and Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga for Mumbai. |
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