IPL Cricket & Commerce;
By Alam Srinivas And T.R. Vivek; Roli Books;
Pages: 185; Price: Rs 195
Buy Borrow Avoid
For once, the book jacket endorsement is hitting the middle stump. Australian cricket journalist Peter Roebuck’s comment, “against all odds, this book is a page-turner”, is utterly apt. Here you have a compilation of facts and anecdotes about IPL 2008 that was covered to the point of saturation by the media. Yet, like the highlights of a good game that people watch despite knowing all the scores and incidents, this book allows IPL fans to revive the sensation of the high-octane inaugural season.
The retold story of IPL’s creation and its inaugural season is spiced up with a chapter each on two most colourful characters of IPL — Lalit Modi, the tournament commissioner, and Shane Warne, the skipper of Rajasthan Royals, the champion team of the inaugural IPL.
Those who have come to see Modi as an upstart are reminded that he is a scion of the once-glorious and still-rich Modi business clan of Delhi. Also, there is a quick run through Modi’s journey from his days as the India partner of ESPN, Disney and FTV to the formidable sports promoter that he has become.
Warne was almost a no-show as the glamour-struck but cricket-dunce promoters were not willing to hire the great spin bowler even at his base rental. Warne and IPL were saved an embarrassment by the penny-pinching Jaipur franchise in which Modi’s brother-in-law Suresh Chellaram is a partner. Shallow though the book is, it is still an interesting read, especially for those slow in waking up to IPL.
This review was published in the Businessworld Issue dated 19-25 May 2009
Book Reviews 
IPL Cricket & Commerce;
