New IPL honcho is avid golfer,singer of Elvis songs

He has been a former chairman of Procter & Gamble Co. and was,in 2008,an adviser to IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

He has been a former chairman of Procter & Gamble Co. and was,in 2008,an adviser to IPL chairman Lalit Modi. Today,Bharat Patel was named honorary adviser to Chirayu Amin,the interim chairman of the worlds richest cricket league.

As the BCCI made the announcement,Modi took offence at the way the release described him. In an e-mail to the Board,he objected to being called the IPLs the then chairman in the context of Patels earlier role. He was still chairman and commissioner of the IPL,Modi said only suspended.

The avid golfer Patels friends from the greens were surprised that the man who postponed vital business meetings to be on the course had turned out to be a closet cricket fan.

His friends within the BCCI said that while Amin,the media-shy,perpetual backroom man,could be expected to remain busy running his pharmaceutical empire,the 60-year-old Patel would be the hands-on man the face of the IPL,and the one that will actually run the high-profile tournament.

With a distinguished corporate career following an MBA and MA in Economics degrees from the USA behind him,Patel has proven credentials to handle big money and rub shoulders with the bigwigs of the business world. He has served on several industry associations in the past,and is currently chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers. He is also associated with the Advertising Standards Council of India,and is a member of the industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Clearly,he is someone who wont take time to connect with franchise owners.

While announcing the appointment,the BCCI mentioned that Patel had been associated in setting up the IPL in

2008,but he didnt quite attract attention in the inaugural edition of the event. His publicized foray in sport has been his golfing connection. With a handicap of 18,Patel has been regular on the fast growing corporate golf circuit. He has been a regular at well known events for the past 15 years,and is known to have re-scheduled business trips abroad just to play in a big event.

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Brandon de DSouza,managing director of Tiger Sports Management,a company that handles corporate golf tournaments,said he was taken aback to hear of Patels appointment. He was mad about two things golf and Davos. I never imagined he would be a cricket administrator one day. But considering his impeccable image,he is the right man, DSouza said.

DSouza described Patel as a very respectable and affable man who also happens to be a great after-dinner speaker and someone who would surprise everyone at parties by taking the microphone to sing some old Western hits. He is a kind of guy who likes Elvis and Tom Jones numbers, DSouza said.