Things could have turned out very differently for the Indian Premier League if its original plan had gone through. Former chairman Lalit Modi has now revealed that he once proposed making the league a completely independent body, something he believes would have transformed it into a self-sustaining global powerhouse.
Today, the IPL is among the richest sports leagues in the world. In fact, one report ranked it just behind the National Football League in terms of annual revenue. But according to Lalit Modi, the league was never meant to function under the BCCI in the way it does now.
He explained that on September 13, 2007, the idea presented to the BCCI governing council was to create the IPL as an independent company, not a subsidiary. The proposal was initially approved, with a structure where team owners would sit on the board and help run the league, similar to how the NFL operates.
However, the plan didn’t last. Lalit Modi shared that there was strong opposition to this structure. Eventually, during meetings held in Jaipur in November or December 2007, the original model was changed after more stakeholders got involved and raised concerns.
Lalit Modi believes that if the initial structure had remained, the IPL would have become far more powerful by now. In simple terms, he suggests it could have controlled its own operations entirely, including global marketing and even its own streaming platforms, making it nearly untouchable in the sports business world. He also mentioned that he may reveal the original IPL constitution someday to show what was first approved.
The IPL officially began in 2008 with eight franchises and later expanded in 2022 by adding two more teams, growing into the massive league we see today.
