IPL Kicks off tomorrow !!

Modi commits Heat is on !

Cape Town: Setting up the 2009 DLF IPLtournament in South Africa inside three weeks has been an effort that stretches well beyond a logistical task unparalleled in world sport to building a brand and a legacy of enduring support in record time, says IPLChairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi. He told at a news conference on Thursday that a key driving factor for the IPL has been to engage South Africans and build excitement and enthusiasm.

“Once the need to move the tournament had been forced on us, we were determined that playing IPL 2009 in another country should be far more than an exercise in finding venues suitable for television," he said. "For us, South Africa was always suitable from a logistical and infrastructure point of view. But it is the welcome we’ve been given by ordinary South Africans that is justifying our belief that we can build a brand and legacy of involvement that last for years to come. Of course, we needed the agreement of all eight teams and the owners understood immediately the potential for turning a problem into a great opportunity.”

Modi said one of the biggest challenges was to get the schedule right. “My team finalised the schedule within 48 hours of arriving in South Africa. We started out having to schedule a league season of 56 games with each team playing the other seven on a home and away basis – plus three days of play-offs – in eight venues over a total of 37 days. There had to be an equal number of games per team in the main centres, no conflict with other major sports and cultural events and team and television production travel schedules had to be taken into account.  I am very pleased with the way it has worked out so far.”

Government at national, provincial and local levels had been exceptionally accommodating, while the Cricket SA had welcomed the IPL with open arms and made its world-class stadiums available, said Modi.

About 700 people are currently working full time in South Africa on the DLF IPL, including an enormous team that has relocated from India to South Africa. This includes the Central IPL and IMG event team of 60, a television and digital media crew of over 200, the eight team franchises bringing about 30 playing staff each along with 20 coaching staff, executives and team owners for each team.

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