Political Diary

New Delhi, 17 April 2010

Lalit-Shashi Aur Dhoka

IPL: ANOTHER SHARJAH?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha, zindagi tera ikbaar na raha. This Bollywood song of yesteryears glove-fits the 2010 LSD (Lalit-Shashi aur dhoka) saga. A dazzling show of the confluence of big money, sport, psychedelic entertainment, accessorised by beautiful women and Bollywood sirens, rubbing shoulders with India's rich and famous and politics leading to a sleazy scandal. Exposing cricket’s filthy underbelly. Making many rue, will it clean-bowl the gentleman’s game?

All thanks to a series of tweets by the IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi about one of the two new franchises, Team Kochi's ownership details last week. A team bought  for a staggering $333 million (Rs 3,250 crore) and  “mentored” by Union Minister of State Shashi Tharoor. Which included his “close friend” Dubai-based Sunanda Pushkar who had been given 19% free sweat equity in perpetuity  of the 25% held by Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) for managing the team. No matter, of the remaining 75%, only 1% was held by a Kerala businessman and the remaining 74% by fat rich Gujarati investors based in Dubai and Mumbai.

Predictably, all hell broke loose. Ugly charges and counter charges were exchanged. About the Minister's “external affair” with Sunanda, IPL Chief’s yesteryear drug conviction, his sudden “lack” of interest in a South African model, countered by RSW’s allegation of being offered $50m to give up their bid in favour of some others,  favouritism to relatives and models, politicians and dons and even reports of a death threat. Provoking the income tax officials to quiz Modi and visit the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters.

The issue is not whether Tharoor is sacked and Modi’s wings are clipped. Nor about the ownership of the Kochi league, but about the transparency and accountability of the IPL’s workings. Clearly the Kochi fracas underscores the many problems in the way the IPL is being funded and run. Reportedly, evidence is mounting that many of the franchisees are owned by multiple entities spread across the world, including in tax havens, and possibly operating as front organisations.

At the centre of the controversy is twice-divorced Sunanda Pushkar. Who? While her ‘close friend’ Tharoor describes her as “reputed business professional and entrepreneur with a long track record of business success”, the facts speak otherwise. Daughter of a retired Army officer from Sopore, Sunanda went to Baramulla Army school and graduated from a Jammu college in 1991 after her family migrated there in 1990. She studied at Presentation Convent and later worked as a receptionist at the ITDC-run Centaur Lakeview in Srinagar where she met her first husband.

Presently, she holds a Canadian passport, lives in Dubai and works as director (sales) of  a real estate company there. Prior to that she ran a spa, worked in an advertising firm, was employed in a travel agency and tried her hand at event management. Totalling not “successful business women” but a plain working women.  Besides how come the smart Sunanda didn’t know that under the law one is only entitled to sweat equity as an employee and not an owner?

There is no gainsaying that both Tharoor and Modi stand guilty of conflict of interest. While Tharoor  is guilty of using his power and influence arising out of his public office improperly, read to further the interests of a business consortium. It's not yet clear exactly what kind of service Tharoor provided to the Kochi team for which investors gave his friend Sunanda a "sweat equity" Then Modi too is equally guilty for keeping mum about his many relatives who have stakes in IPL teams.

Tragically, the heady mix of glitz and glamour plus an insatiable craving for instant riches, bulging bank accounts, bankruptcy of scruples, shady whispers of underworld funds and omnipresent fixers appear to have taken control of the wheels of the IPL juggernaut, which now perhaps is cruising to rid itself off the BCCI's control. AS succinctly encapsulated by Union Sports Minister MS Gill, “This is not cricket”! Think. The IPL brand in less than three years is estimated today at a whopping $4.13 billion, how? Not a few,  believe that it could soon overtake the English Premier League (EPL), currently valued at around $12 billion. Absurd given that the EPL is the world's most widely watched sporting league with a viewership of over 500 million, spread across over 200 countries.

Arguably, is the IPL 2010 the new avatar of  Sharjah 1984-2001? And is Lalit Modi the new Abdul Rahman Bukhatir? Yes, if one goes by the skeletons tumbling out fast and furious from the IPL cupboard as also the many questions it raises. Recall, Sharjah, was the much-sought after venue for 200 one-day international matches involving three- four international teams in the mid 80’s-90s. Established by Bukhatir under the garb of the “The Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS)” to honour cricketers from India and Pakistan, it came under a cloud when Dawood Ibrahim booked special enclosures with Bollywood filmstars in tow and hosted post-match parties. Soon it became synonymous with D-Company, betting, money laundering, match fixing et al. However, all this came to an ignominious end when a senior Indian cricketer spilt the beans on betting and match-fixing leading to the Indian Government banning the national cricket team from playing there. This was followed by the Justice Y V Chandrachud on the betting and money laundering phenomenon in Indian cricket post Hansie-gate.

According to IB sources the Kochi stink has once again raised the scepter of Sharjah. The fear is that the underworld would indirectly try and participate in cricket operations since they realize that the game is a major money-spinner and they could double their money. The investments would not be direct but through its stooges so that on the surface, the operation looks legitimate. Thus, making tracking difficult. The fear is that the monies so received would be a terror-front. Said an official, “There is a definite smell of match-fixing coming from the IPL where strange things are happening," It is strange that players who are not regular bowlers have taken hat-tricks in the league. Teams are losing matches from winning positions.”

Significantly, who are the stakeholders of the IPL teams, including ‘related parties’ and ‘associate businesses’? Do we know how bids and valuations were decided in the first auction and who were the other bidders who lost out and by what margin? Isn’t there a conflict of interest when a senior cricket board official also owns an IPL franchise?

Clearly, everything is not above board with the IPL. It has become a byword for cronyism and big money. At its heart it is about making money, not sporting excellence. "I am just a businessman and have absolutely no interest in cricket," In fact, the Modi-Tharoor spat has a silver lining: It has opened the can of worms in sportsdom.

It is incumbent on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to clear the air in the next IPL governing council meeting to be held soon. Since the ownership structure of the Kochi franchisee has been made public, the same should be done for other franchisees too. This would go a long way in making the operations of the IPL transparent. If the BCCI drags its feet, the Government must inquire into the financial dealings of the IPL. Undoubtedly, the latest episode goes much beyond cricket.

More. Sadly, all sports bodies are headed by powerful politicians or their ‘henchmen’ bureaucrats. The BCCI is no different from the Indian Olympic Association, badminton, football federations’ et al.  You name it and virtually all sporting body in this country is headed by a politician. At the State level it is Chief Ministers many with little interest in or knowledge of the game. The truth is that sports is a heady intoxicating potion for our netas. And like politics they run their fiefdoms with an iron fist wherein decision-making is confined to a small group of people sans accountability.

Needless to say, the rot has set in. Correctives need to be put in place urgently before the IPL and the BCCI’s credibility is ruined. It needs to be remembered that sports is by necessity a public activity, one that must be transparently conducted and be accountable. Not clean bowled by no rules, no boundaries and cronyism! ----INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)