IPL Founder Lalit Modi Says, “IPL will soon be bigger than NFL.”

As the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Indian Premier League rejoiced over the league’s 1000th game, its founder, Lalit Modi, became visibly nostalgic. “For me, it’s a personal dream come true,” he reminisced.

Modi expressed his gratitude to the fans, players, stakeholders, and regulators for their unwavering support.

“Thank you for contributing to the success of the IPL and making it what it is today,” he exclaimed to Cricbuzz amidst the festivities at Wankhede on Sunday evening.

The IPL’s rapid growth and evolution into the world’s second-largest league in terms of value and top in terms of viewership have left Modi overwhelmed with emotions.

However, he believes that the most significant impact of the league’s expansion is the emergence of young talent across the country and the infrastructure that has sprung up as a result of it. “This is the IPL’s legacy,” he explained from his London home.

Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), started the eight-team league in 2008, and since then, the league has grown tremendously.

Its value has skyrocketed to over $10 billion, with media rights costing over $6.2 billion (Rs 48,390 crore), more than six times the original cost. Additionally, the value of the two new teams added last year is close to $2 billion.

Modi, who was once known as the czar of the IPL, has predicted that the league will surpass the NFL soon, owing to the overwhelming support of its fans.

He emphasized that the IPL is recession-proof, and the league has not been affected by economic downturns or global crises.

Instead, it has gone from strength to strength, becoming the second-biggest league in the world and the number one league in terms of viewership.

Modi takes pride in the emergence of Afghanistan as a cricketing nation, with many of their finest players coming from the IPL.

He notes that the league has not only changed the fortunes of Indian players but also that of many international players, mainly Afghan players.

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Afghanistan has qualified for the 2023 World Cup ahead of former champions like West Indies, Sri Lanka, and even South Africa.

Rashid Khan, the best white-ball spinner in the world, earns Rs 15 crore annually from the league, and several other Afghan players have either played or are currently playing in the IPL.

Modi applauds the IPL for providing opportunities to thousands of cricketers who have benefited from the league’s riches and become overnight millionaires.

In the first auction of 2008, Ishant Sharma, a relative newcomer at the time, was sold for $950,000, which Modi says was life-changing. Hundreds of players across India have benefited from the IPL, and all participating teams seem to be making profits, he adds.

When asked if the league has progressed the way he would have liked, Modi praises the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its leadership under Jay Shah & co, saying that there are no complaints.

He acknowledges that the IPL has done very well over the years, and while it could always have been done better, the league has achieved what it aimed to achieve.

Moreover, the BCCI has done a tremendous job in the last few years, getting rid of all controversies and moving forward.