Mumbai Indians had started their camp in South Africa a month in advance. That may not be an inference for the choice of venue as Lalit Modi and Co will travel to England first. The entourage leaves on Monday morning and will hold lengthy discussions with the English Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa. They will hope the sweeter the deal, the better. Anyways, the IPL will have to part with 30% of their profits for the season. That will be a sum guaranteed to the host board. In addition, they will have to cover up any extra cost the franchises will incur.   
 
So the billion dollar baby may not reap the harvest it did last year when Kolkata Knight Riders registered profits and as many as four teams got returns par with their investments. So what will the season two look like? Neither the statisticians nor Lalit Modi will be able to quantify profits or losses but what they are assured of is the TV money. That consists of 80% of the league’s revenues. While there will be hectic negotiations for a venue, they have ironed out their differences with Sony. Sony TV has finally agreed to a ‘non-terminable’ contract and got back the rights of the IPL. Which means ‘Manoranjan ka Baap’ is back on MAX.
 
And that’s not all. IPL will be assured of higher revenue from gate sales because tickets will then be priced accordingly. They may also get a tax waiver. But the logistical nitty-gritty’s will continue to haunt the franchises till the tournament starts rolling on the 10th of April.
 
Shah Rukh Khan seemed resigned to the decision of IPL organisers, but did mention that season two will ‘miss the buzz of India’. But on the telly it will still be a heady concoction of IPL and general elections.
 
The tournament’s shift is now featuring as a poll issue. Lalit Modi does not want to rub the Government up the wrong way considering that there is a promise to get the tournament back to India the next year but the knee-jerk reaction has not been taken kindly by many. Even Sharad Pawar, the former chief of BCCI refused to be drawn into any IPL related conversations any further.
 
To the ‘aam janta’ or the public at large Sharad Pawar taking on Modi or vice-versa may not matter but the distance between them and their heroes. They will be denied the opportunity to dance to ‘Korbo, lorbo, jeetbo’ or make Shane Warne hum the ‘Halla Bol’ number. They will also miss the opportunity of watching them live in action. A big miss, no doubt!
 
But Lalit Modi’s argument is only 10% watch the game live in the stadium and the rest 2 million on their television sets. However the success of the league lay in its Indian-ness, despite having broken the barriers. While Lalit Modi, the charismatic Commissioner and Chairman’s Midas touch has done many a star turn but here’s just one account on which he has failed, ‘to retain the league’s character’.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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