AGENTS OF CHANGE: LALIT MODI 

Lalit Modi is credited with changing the landscape of India Cricket elevating it to global scale. Modi envisaged and formulated the multi-million dollar - Indian Premier League (IPL), on the football-style, franchise-based format that got millions of people addicted to 20-20 cricket format, where the two competing teams play 20 overs each.

Cricket, the most popular sport in India, already was a big money-spinner in India even before IPL, but he took the business of this sport to a new scale, crossing the domestic borders. The tournament was first held in 2008, consolidating India's position as cricket's economic powerhouse, and consequently, its premier agenda-setter.

When second edition of IPL clashed with the General Elections in India, rather than postponing the tournament, Modi simply shifted the venue to South Africa. Keeping in mind that IPL was a ‘made for television event, the matches were scheduled at Indian prime time. Upbeat with the success of IPL-2, Lalit Modi is confident that the third edition of the tournament will be played in India.

Lalit Modi is also Chairman of Twenty20 Champions League, an international Twenty20 cricket competition between clubs from Australia, England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies; and Vice-President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the apex governing body for cricket in India.

Modi’s journey to become “one of the most effective sports administrators in history” has been fast as well as spectacular. Confident of the business potential of live sports, he started distributing sports pay channels. After becoming the youngest Vice-President of BCCI in 2005, he made it the richest cricket board in the world. His aggressive approach pushed its revenue to more than $1 billion mark. As per an estimate, BCCI’s revenue has increased seven-fold after his joining.

He was awarded "The Business Standard Award", an award instituted by Business Standard, one of the leading business newspapers in India, for making BCCI the ‘Most Innovative Company’ in India for the year 2008.

He was also awarded "Brand Builder of the Year" by Asia Brand Conference.