How Lalit Modi joined the Indian board and changed the face of cricket

Being in the US, Lalit Modi was impressed by the revenue American sports leagues would generate. So, in 1995, he went on and pitched this idea for a new 50-over tournament to BCCI. 

However, the Indian cricket board did not take him seriously. He even registered a name for the tournament and called it - Indian Cricket League Limited.

In order to get his plan function, in 1999, Lalit Modi managed to get elected to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), which is a constituent body of BCCI. However, he was forced to leave the Association by the Chief Minister of the state.

Later, in 2004, Modi was elected as the vice-president of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), under President Inderjit Singh Bindra.

Later, Modi decided to gain control of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and registered himself under the name "Lalit Kumar", - a member of the Nagore district's cricket association. He did not want to use his full name for fear of being denied entry.

In 2005, Modi was elected as the President of RCA after he defeated Kishore Rungta by just 1 vote.

After becoming the President, Modi spent around Rs 200 million to renovate Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium. He even sold the boundary-rope advertising for Rs 1.5 million per spot. Not just that, he also ended the practice of giving away tickets for free and sold corporate box seats.

After becoming the President of RCA in 2005, Modi went on to help Sharad Pawar defeat Jagmohan Dalmiya in the BCCI Presidential elections. This led to him being appointed vice-president of the BCCI.

This is how Lalit Modi was heavily involved in the commercial side of the BCCI as between 2005 and 2008, the cricket board's revenues increased sevenfold.

It was in 2008, that Lalit Modi's dream became a reality after the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He also engineered the IPL's move to South Africa in 2009, after the dates of the cash tournament clashed with the general elections. 

Since its inception, the IPL has only grown into one of the world's biggest sports leagues. For IPL 2023, the BCCI secured one of the biggest broadcast deals in the history of the sport. It fetched an eye-popping 48,390 crore (USD 6.20 billion) through IPL media rights for a five-year period, starting in 2023.