IPL final greatest day of my life: Lalit Modi

Not many felt IPL would be successful in South Africa but Modi has proved them wrong

Not many felt IPL would be successful in South Africa but Modi has proved them wrong

He's the man of the moment. Lalit Modi has stunned the cricket world by successfully hosting the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League against all odds.

Not many gave the IPL chairman a chance when the tournament was shifted to South Africa.

But, the South African crowds came out in full support of the event and it was a roaring success. However, the tournament has had its share of controversies and disappointments.

MR IPL: Lalit Modi.

Modi took some time off his busy schedule on the day of the grand finale to speak to MiD DAY yesterday.

Excerpts from an interview:

Have you felt more elated?
This is the greatest moment for me. It's a double joy for me. I had a granddaughter last night and a tournament which was extremely successful. It couldn't have been better.

Do you feel you crossed the biggest hurdle and there's no stopping the IPL now?
Without doubt. It's achieving the impossible. In the shortest period of time, making a tournament happen was one thing, but getting a fan base was another. To have a fan base around the world for the game of cricket was always my dream and that is what I worked towards.

I think we have grown the pie for the game of cricket and you will see hundreds of thousands of people who will come to the stadium to enjoy the experience after watching it on TV.

Some have never watched a cricket match before. They have come into cricket with T20, the IPL, and they will only grow into the game with it and our job is to do that. I couldn't be happier.

Not many people gave you a chance when the IPL was shifted to South Africa...
Not many gave me a chance in many things I tried to do in cricket in the past. So my job is to go after the impossible and that is what I do best.

Do you think team owners tend to take their enthusiasm too far at times? Does this need some caution from the IPL governing council?
No, I don't think so. They are owners, they are passionate about their teams and that's what it's all about. It is all about passion.
u00a0
Passion can get you anywhere. In England, fans are passionate about their teams and see what happens. There is nothing wrong with it.

Every tournament has its share of controversy, but the altercation involving the Sahara family and Kings XI Punjab owners Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman was shameful from whatever was reported....
It was misconstrued... totally misconstrued. There were these two owners passionate about one team and there were other members in the box, who were passionate about another team and they were trying to induce each other to take each other's flags. It's all about passion.

There's been some criticism about the franchise owners being in the dugout...
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I support it totally and I think we have a system of one team owner being allowed to be in the dugout.

He owns the franchise; it's his team. He can be manager of the team if he wants.

Any incident in this IPL where you got so angry that you would have burst a blood vessel?
No. It's a game. Things happen, you have to move on. You can't sit on the bench and think about the past. You got to move on. If you allow things to bog you down and harbour those kind of instincts, you will never move forward. I am not a man who does that. What happened yesterday was left on the plate yesterday. You've got to look forward to tomorrow.

Did you read the fake IPL player blog? Did you find any reference to you?
I never did. I heard about it from people.

It is all part of the game. People write many things and make up many stories... okay fine.
If I get bogged down reading one of these things, I will never move forward. It is a matter of another story coming out, that's perfectly fine.

Where are you going for your much-needed break?
I am going to London. I have a granddaughter, who was born yesterday.u00a0 I am looking forward to being there and seeing her.