Page 89 - IPL 2

I t still gives me goose bumps when I think of IPL-II in South Africa. The hosts had only three weeks to put everything in

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL place - grounds, safety, travel plans, advertising and marketing, stadia logistics, food and catering. Everything. And they did

such a brilliant job of it that when the fi nals were held at the Wanderers six weeks later, the fi nalists, Deccan Chargers and
Royal Challengers Bangalore, had 35,000 people rooting for them from the packed stands. Most of them were South Africans
and here we are talking of a provincial tournament of India which had no connect with the South Africans. How was this wild

LALIT MODI heist pulled off?

SHASHANK MANOHAR By now, we all know the scale and breadth of IPL - it can test the entire machinery of a nation and political fallouts are easy
to understand. But big challenges bring big rewards and the South African hosts, to their credit, seized the opportunity

N SRINIVASAN when they saw one. They weren’t deterred that the IPL-II coincided with the general elections, as it turned out, one of the
hottest contested in the brief history of South African republic. Nor were they worried if their local fans would wake up to
the tournament in time. They just went ahead. As it turned out, it was a very smart move. It allowed South Africa to take
MP PANDOVE the global recession in stride and its’ economy received a boost of over 1 billion rands. Its’ expertise in hosting a world-class
tournament at a short notice has made them a favourite destination for global sporting events in future. I feel this has given
SANJAY JAGDALE South Africa a completely new identity in the world of sports and commerce. They are bound to reap rewards on their risk in

INDERJIT SINGH BINDRA the near future.

Sure, the IPL authorities, led by the fl amboyant Commissioner Lalit Modi, too showed the courage to embark on a completely
NIRANJAN SHAH uncharted course of action. They decided swiftly and chose not to freeze when presented with a diffi cult situation. There
were other smart moves made too. Francois Pineear was roped in as the South African face of the IPL. Pineear is a legend
ARUN JAITLEY in South Africa who commands unquestioned respect for being the man who lifted rugby’s world cup trophy in 1995. When
he turned up with Lalit Modi and Shahrukh Khan at the media conference in Cape Town at the launch of the IPL-II, I clearly
DR FAROOQ ABDULLAH noticed the wheels had already been set in motion. Pineear and his team lost no time in making the connect between the
masses and IPL-II happen. They helped in building up a frenzy in crowd response and media coverage. Francois made me get

RAVI SHASTRI up very early a couple of times to get out on the radio networks and spread the word. Pineear and company made sure that
all the eight teams received adequate and distinct identity to stand out in the mental landscape of the South African masses.

TIGER PATAUDI Soon the affi nity between the IPL and masses began to show. Once the IPL rolled out as a competition on April 18, 2009,

SUNIL GAVASKAR things happened quickly. Advertising, contests, cheerleaders, celebrities and fi reworks helped as did the thoughtful move
of awarding scholarship funds of Rand 100,000 to schools. The world quickly woke up to the revolution just managed. It
was a seminal moment in the history of modern sport. Gushed Sydney Morning Herald “If the ability to market a sports
RAJIV SHUKLA tournament is usually a science, then the IPL and its South African partners raised it to an art.” Agence France-Presse termed
it “an extraordinary achievement.” For the huge Indian diaspora in South Africa, it was like a homecoming.
CHIRAYU AMIN The cricket was excellent too. Young domestic players got an opportunity to play with the world’s best in diffi cult foreign

conditions - an incalculable opportunity in the career graph of a young cricketer. And the result, two teams at the bottom of
the heap in the fi rst edition rising up to the fi nals in the second, was a testimony to the roller-coaster ride.

For me, having been involved with the game for nearly three decades, this surely was a high point.

RAVI SHASTRI
On behalf of the IPL Governing Council

78 GAME ON GAME ON 79