'Violated Every Rule In The Book' Lalit Modi Spilled The Beans On IPL

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi claimed that he broke broadcasting rules during the first match of the tournament back in 2008. Kolkata Knight Riders took on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first-ever IPL encounter, and Modi said that he was willing to 'break every rule in the book' given the magnitude of the occasion.

Modi stated that he was concerned about Sony's reach at that time & asked other channels to override their broadcasting rights. Instead, he told the other news & TV channels to go live at the same time when the match begins.

Lalit Modi On the Opening Match Of IPL

"Everything was dependent on that first match of the IPL & I was worried about the reach the Sony network had at that time. I said Just open the signals, Was the streaming available everywhere? Then I told the other broadcasters who had lost the bid to broadcast the match when it goes live". Lalit Modi stated in a podcast with former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke.

Sony then said, We'll sue you, To this, I said Sue me later, you don't have the reach, we're going live with other channels now. The first game of the tournament was very important for me; had it flopped, I would've been dead."

Earlier, Lalit Modi found himself in a major controversy once again after he revealed the video of Harbhajan Singh slapping S Sreesanth during IPL 2008. The 'Slapgate' incident was a major incident & sent shockwaves in the global sport. Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently heavily criticized Lalit Modi as he released the entire video regarding the incident.

Harbhajan Singh On Lalit Modi

"The way that clip came out, it shouldn't have come out. The incident happened 18 years ago, everybody has moved on from it, but I feel they had some selfish reasons to publicize it," Harbhajan told Instant Bollywood.

He further suggested that similar controversies involving Australian players have often been kept under wraps to protect reputations, pointing to a bias in how such matters are treated depending on the players’ backgrounds.