Modi's rapid rise and fall

Before controversy hit the Indian Premier League (IPL), it seemed the league's feisty commissioner Lalit Kumar Modi, 46, could do no wrong. He was the country's undisputed ‘cricket czar', the architect of the phenomenally successful $4.13 billion (Dh15.1 billion) cricket league that had this billion-plus, cricket-crazy nation in its thrall.

Even as marketers analysed Modi's entrepreneurial prowess in crafting a money-spinning template based on Twenty20 cricket, its creator basked in the afterglow of its success. Modi was the toast of Bollywood royalty and cash-lush investors even as a breathless media hung on his every sound byte.

However, the tables turned overnight on Modi when his sensational twitter post on April 11 disclosed the identities of the stakeholders of the Kochi IPL team, breaching confidentiality agreements. This triggered an unsavory chain of events that rocked New Delhi as furious allegations of political bigwigs being involved in the IPL scam flew thick and fast. Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who had allegedly used a proxy to gain co-ownership of the Kochi team, was asked to resign due to his "misuse of public office for private gain".

Modi didn't escape unscathed either. The Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI), IPL's parent organisation, leveraged the brouhaha to pressurise its controversial commissioner into resigning. Modi refused. "People pressurising me to resign — I can tell you [it] will not happen," he tweeted. "Let them remove me then."

However, the tycoon's critics say the Kochi controversy was the proverbial last straw in a long line of infractions. Modi, notorious for running the IPL like his personal fiefdom, bent every rule in the book to sell franchises, hire top officials and distribute largesse unabashedly among his friends and family without as much as consulting his team members.

It is also alleged that the tycoon clandestinely bought silent stakes in three IPL teams — Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings X1 Punjab. Charges of match fixing and betting in IPL games have also been leveled against Modi. Ergo, a groundswell of angst had been building up against the chief ever since he took the IPL's reins three years ago.

No expenses spared

Interestingly, the vegetarian and teetotaler Modi is known to be fond of the good life. He lives in an ostentatious, sea-facing villa in a posh part of Mumbai, India's financial nerve center. The IPL chief also owns a fleet of luxury cars and a 13-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 private jet bought in 2008 for $20 million.

Despite his brilliant ideas, Modi's critics say his execution is flawed. This has invariably led to his ventures flopping in quick succession. Failing this, they become caught in a legal quagmire due to non-payment of dues, employee unrest or statutory non-compliance.

Perhaps Modi was destined to find his fame elsewhere. An avid cricket fan, he became president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) in 2005 with the help of then chief minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje. However, the businessman's meteoric rise to power led to a string of court cases against him. His detractors insist that Modi pressured the state's district associations into accepting him as RCA president despite not being a resident of Rajasthan, a prerequisite for the post. State police records show that Modi featured in a raft of cases involving fraud and forgery.

Modi's relationship with Raje also helped him land lucrative real estate deals. Such was Modi's clout that he was nicknamed ‘Super Chief Minister' and ‘Mr Ten Per Cent' because he persuaded bureaucrats to route papers on the state's big real estate deals through his office.

It has also been alleged that Modi embezzled funds during the 2007 World Cup, illegally acquired government-owned heritage properties and showed them as private property, disrespected the national flag and misappropriated funds meant for bomb blast victims.

Strangely, despite his dubious dealings, Modi was the country's highest tax payer in the first half of this fiscal year, paying a whopping Rs80 million (Dh6.6 million).

It is said that Modi has a panel of lawyers on tap to bail him out of his sundry legal hassles. As the long arm of the law catches up with the embattled IPL chief, Modi's advocates will have their hands full.

So does this signify the end of the road for Modi? He currently faces 22 charges of impropriety framed by the IPL's governing council. However, Modi watchers say it is unfair to make him a scapegoat for the IPL imbroglio. They say he is the symptom of a larger rot that infects Indian sports.

In an incredible three years, Modi and co transformed the IPL into a spectacular global brand. It has taken them only a few days to self-destruct. For the league to regain its gloss, a thorough clean-up is vital. Only this will restore the trust of disenchanted investors and cricket fans in the gentleman's game.

Neeta Lal is a New-Delhi based freelance journalist.