Book Title: ‘Maverick Commissioner: The IPL-Lalit Modi Saga’,
Author: Boria Majumdar
Publisher: Simon & Schuster India
Simon & Schuster India is releasing Boria Majumdar’s latest work, ‘Maverick Commissioner: The IPL-Lalit Modi Saga’, in Kolkata on 16th June, a story of the most controversial man in Indian cricket!
IPL, the money-spinner
The IPL, which was perhaps the biggest gamble of Lalit Modi’s life, turned out to be the biggest success story ever. And in creating the IPL, Modi ended up giving a new life to cricket in India and beyond. Cricketers found a unique voice and marketers a new investment opportunity. Broadcasters found a magic product, and the BCCI found its golden goose. While Modi had to give it all up in a few years and leave India for good, his imprint has stayed on, making him one of the most talked-about figures ever in the Indian cricket administration.
There aren’t straight answers to many questions surrounding Lalit Modi and the mysteries at crucial points in his life. Boria Majumdar’s latest book ‘Maverick Commissioner: The IPL-Lalit Modi Saga’ attempts to piece together the entire story.
There is no intention to judge Lalit Modi, nor does Boria take sides. The book is about the untold story of IPL and its founder. What happened and how it happened. For as long as the IPL is subject to media scrutiny, Modi will continue to stay relevant. Maverick Commissioner: The IPL-Lalit Modi Saga by Boria Majumdar is soon to be a major motion picture.
The Indian Premier League– its mere mention forces cricket fans across the world to sit up and take notice. World cricket’s most valued property has only grown stronger with time. Conceived and implemented by Lalit Modi in 2008, the IPL has forever revolutionised the way cricket gets marketed and run globally. Modi built and orchestrated the tournament by his rules. After the stupendous success of the IPL, the same rules got questioned by the administration, and Modi was subsequently banned for life.
The story of IPL
How and why did it happen? What went on behind the scenes? How did it all start to go wrong between Modi and the others? Are there secrets that will never come out? This book is all about everything you never got to know. Each fact corroborated by multiple sources who were in the thick of things, Maverick Commissioner is a riveting account of the IPL and the functioning of its founder, Lalit Kumar Modi. Did Modi have a long telephone conversation with a BCCI top brass the day he left India for good? What got discussed?
The book has many finer points to reveal, not just for the lovers of the game but those who find IPL too commercially driven to be called cricket. In other words, they believe that the IPL format has compromised the spirit of the ‘gentleman’s game.’ Soon to be made into a film by Vibri Motion Pictures, Maverick Commissioner documents things as they happened. All it does is narrate the story of Lalit Modi. Who is he? It’s left for the readers to decide.
About the author
Boria Majumdar, a Rhodes scholar, is recognised as one of India’s most influential commentators. Having covered international sport between 2002 and 2022, he is also the Founder of RevSportz, a multi-sport, multi-language digital platform. Majumdar has written more than 1,500 columns on sports over the last 20 years and has authored or co-authored multiple books, including Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians, Olympics: The India Story (with Nalin Mehta) and Playing It My Way—Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography. His show Backstage With Boria is a popular chat show.
