To Lalit Modi's right was Shilpa Shetty, whose boyfriend bought a stake in the Rajasthan Royals a few days ago. To his left was a giant pair of black sunglasses carrying Preity Zinta
To Lalit Modi's right was Shilpa Shetty, whose boyfriend bought a stake in the Rajasthan Royals a few days ago. To his left was a giant pair of black sunglasses carrying Preity Zinta
A little past one pm on Friday, Lalit Modi walked on to a sun-baked lawn at the Taj Fort Aguada resort in Goa. Climbing the steps to the dais, from where he would address the media, he tripped and almost lost his balance.
Earlier, during the player auction for the second Indian Premier League (IPL), Modi mistakenly thought the proceedings were over.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the 45-year-old IPL chairman and commissioner said to the gathering of high profile owners and team managers when he realised that a few players were yet to be discussed.
These were rare stumbles for Modi on a day he marched towards another milestone in his controversial but seminal career. Last year, the man who thinks with his wallet made history by actualising his dream of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Friday's auction marked the much-awaited arrival of the second.
Last year's auction was in Mumbai. There were more players under the hammer (77 were sold in the first auction and 28 in a second). Senior players of some teams, like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly were present.
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Curiosity among fans and media was high because everything was new.
This year, there was no hysteria. One reason was the host city. Goa may be the best place to feel at home if you are Russian, but it is not a big media centre. Two, players were not present at the auction. Three, only 17 of 49 players were bought. Of these there were just two players whose price and destination people were interested in. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff of England. As we know they both went for $ 1.55 million.
Vijay Mallya, aptly wearing a red Hawaiin shirt at a venue called Hermitage Hall, bought Pietersen for his Bangalore Royal Challengers team. Flintoff rode away in the shopping cart of the Chennai Super Kings.
The lozenge green ocean off the adjacent Sinquerim beach and the boats bouncing on it were reminiscent of the Fredalo incident. Was Modi, as commissioner, and with last year's Sreesanth-Harbhajan Singh incident in the background, wary of players with a discipline problem?
These are professional players. Besides, we have a new code of conduct in place which will soon be announced be explained to the players." Moreover, as Modi himself is not one to, say, oil his hair, drink milk and fall asleep by 10 pm, he would be more likely to turn a blind eye to mischief than punish its perpetrator.
The auction took place in rounds at one of the banquet halls in the hotel. The media briefings were being held a little away at the Hermitage Hall. After every round Modi and representatives of teams which had made a purchase came to Hermitage Hall. Five minutes past noon, Modi arrived a second time and sat on the dais. To his right was Shilpa Shetty, whose boyfriend bought a stake in the Rajasthan Royals a few days ago. To his left was a giant pair of black sunglasses carrying Preity Zinta.
"Ravi Bopara is a great player. He is an allrounder. He will be great for the team," Zinta said rather insightfully about the $450,000 purchase of the England player by her team, the Kings XI Sunglasses, no, Punjab. Later, Zinta and her boyfriend Ness Wadia, who owns the Punjab franchise, were in strategic combat with the Kolkata Knight Riders over Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh bowler. The more than half hour tussle pushed Mortaza's price into the orbit, making him the story of the day. His base price was $50,000. He went for $600,000. The discerning journalists said how Kolkata would reap much more for the Bangladesh market was now theirs for the taking.
Wadia, wearing jeans and sneakers, joined Modi on the dais for the day's last briefing. Later, he gave several interviews, speaking the kind of Hindi posh people from South Bombay speak ("(Hamein young talent badhaana chahiye").
After the auction concluded, the barriers at the hotel vanished. Access was bountiful. The lobby was filled with stars and journalists and they made the most of this mutually beneficial situation. Zinta and Shilpa, seated on separate couches, gave dozens of interviews. They deserve credit for answering the same questions over and over again. Zinta only had one condition. Having accessorised her sunglasses with a knee length red dress, she instructed cameramen to "not take low shots".
Juhi Chawla was also there, carrying one of those bags for which women inexplicably pay lakhs of rupees. She wore a white Kolkata Knight Riders shirt, jeans and a smile as she endured one Qayamat from the media after another. Nita Ambani's sunglasses had an 'Om' logo. She said she wanted the Mumbai Indians, owned by her husband Mukesh, to be a young team and said she was happy the average age was now 25 or 26. She said Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai captain, sent her a "congratulations" text message.
Amidst this high excitement, an old gent in greenish blue kurta and two pairs of glasses, one shades, the other prescription, noiselessly walked past. It was Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. The IPL happened four decades too late for him, else he would have been first pick for the Royals.
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Akshay Sawai is sports editor, Open, the RPG Group's forthcoming current affairs magazine
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