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Xtra Time Web Desk: The former Indian Premier League commissioner, Lalit Modi, said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has done a fantastic job with the league, taking the games to newer cities and markets to open up the entire country to the tournament.

While speaking to Backstage with Boria Majumdar on Revsportz, "The IPL has grown to be the world's best sports league and has a valuation second to none, and one has to say the BCCI has done a fantastic job with it. The new group in the BCCI that is running the show now has it right. They have taken games to newer cities and markets and opened up the entire country to the IPL."

Lalit discusses various strategies to enhance the IPL and maximize its potential for growth. The Board of Control for Cricket in India must initiate for expanding the tournament's reach to newer demographics, particularly acknowledging fans' enthusiasm from diverse locations like Austria. However, the main highlights of the tournament come from team owners, particularly in areas such as merchandising and collective marketing efforts. He suggests the possibility of establishing a secondary league in tier two or tier three cities during the September-October window, with potential promotion to the IPL for the winner, to further engage untapped fan bases. Emphasizing the significance of Indian players in driving the tournament's success, they argue for a shift towards reliance on local talent rather than foreign stars. They cite examples from other leagues to underscore the importance of fostering a strong local connection for sustained growth.

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"I think the world T-20 in New York will be driven by expats. For a one-off game, that is fine. In the US, it is still the expats who drive the sport. In the absence of local connections, you cannot really grow the sport. So while I do think the India Pakistan match will be a major spectacle and will be a huge draw with expats from all over backing it, I am seriously sceptical about cricket's inclusion in LA.

Had it been included in Australia or England, for example, when the Olympics were being staged in these countries, I would say it was a great move. But to think that cricket will make its debut in LA, where there is no real local connection, makes me sceptical. We have to wait and see what happens but on the face of it I feel sceptical," he concluded.

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Lalit also emphasized the necessity for greater innovation among team owners in the realm of merchandising, noting its lacklustre performance thus far. He advocated for the establishment of a centralized IPL store and highlighted ticketing as an area ripe for improvement.