When Commissioner Lalit Modi metaphorically describes the Indian Premier League as a “family”, he may not be too far off the mark.

Four of the eight teams in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament are owned or managed by individuals with links either with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or with Modi himself.

Consider the following:

•Suresh Chellaram, one of the owners of the Rajasthan Royals through the consortium Emerging Media, is Modi’s brother-in-law. “Of course, Suresh Chellaram is Lalit Modi’s brother-in-law but that doesn’t mean anything,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said, “there is no conflict of interest.” The other partners are Lachlan Murdoch and Manoj Badale, who runs the Cricket Star academy in Jaipur. Modi is also president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and the RCA’s Future Cricket Academy, which has tied up with Emerging Media to launch Cricket Star T20, a televised nationwide talent hunt, of which former India coach Greg Chappell is also a part.

• One of the owners of Kings XI Punjab is Mohit Burman of the Dabur family. His brother Gaurav, who is based in UK, is Modi’s step son-in-law. When contacted, Mohit Burman said: “It’s not just me alone, there are three other investors and naturally they won’t be putting their money because I am related. The IPL is a good business opportunity and the relationship with Modi is a mere coincidence.”

When asked about this, Modi, who is also head of BCCI’s marketing committee, said: “So what if Mohit Burman’s brother is related to me? He is not a part of the IPL.”

... contd.