Lalit Modi suggests how IPL can improve even further

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi applauded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for doing a fantastic job with the league. The league has grown to 10 teams with more cities hosting and playing games.

"The IPL has grown to be the world's best sports league and has a valuation second to none, and one has to say the BCCI has done a fantastic job with it. The new group in the BCCI that is running the show now has it right. They have taken games to newer cities and markets and opened up the entire country to the IPL," he said on Revsportz.

"That is how you bring in newer constituencies of people within the fold of the tournament and it has been great to see them do that. When I sit here in Austria and see fans from across the country get behind the tournament, I have to say I am thrilled and a lot of credit must go to the BCCI for taking the tournament ahead and making it bigger and better," he added.

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However, Modi feels there is room for growth and identified areas which need improvement. Lalit said the teams need to innovate and do more to build the merchandising aspect of sports. He also urged for better ticketing structure.

"Innovation not so much from the BCCI but more from the team owners. Now most teams have a strong fan base. And yet, merchandising has not really taken off. I would want to see the team owners come together and work on merchandising. It is an opportunity lost. They should open a centralised IPL store and take the story forward. Even ticketing is something the team owners can improve on. Rather than doing their own things, they should do things collectively."

"For the BCCI, may be they should now think of a secondary league in tier two or tier three cities. That is where the appetite is, and that is where you should take the tournament. Use the September-October window earmarked for the Champions League for this. Maybe even think if the winner can be promoted to the IPL for the next season. That's where the BCCI can go with the tournament the next few years," he added.

Lalit stated that the BCCI have done a good job of expanding the tournament and taking it to cities that "were earlier untapped".

"That is how you grow your fanbase. Many speak of Manchester United or Liverpool and Real Madrid. In our country, we have still not realised more than 10 percent of the fan potential. In a population of 1.45 billion, it is safe to say that no Manchester United can ever come close to a Mumbai Indians for example. Each of these teams will be the biggest sports club in the world and that is where the IPL is the biggest success story," he added.