Come 2011 and Lalit Modi, the mastermind behind the Indian Premier League, would like to see Twenty20 extravaganza taking place twice a year.
NEW DELHI: Come 2011 and Lalit Modi, the mastermind behind the Indian Premier League, would like to see Twenty20 extravaganza taking place twice a year.
While the ongoing inaugural edition of the slam-bang tournament has already proved to be an immense hit, Modi, the IPL Commissioner and Chairman, is in no mood to pause and bask in the glory. Instead, he is thinking of taking it even further.
Talking to CNN's 'Talk Asia' programme, the cricket administrator spelled out his future plans for IPL, which included having two IPL tournaments in the same year.
"I think the IPL, we will like to keep it as two seasons. A single season for the first three years, we would like to move it to two seasons and we have another season in September," said Modi.
Talking about his brainchild, Modi admitted there was an obvious American touch to the entire event.
"It is -- to a certain extent. We added a lot of music to the games. I think it provides entertainment for the crowds and between breaks.
"People are able to lap it up and enjoy it - it's an evening out. A Bollywood movie is three hours. This is a three hour function. A lot of good food and catering and popcorn and ice cream for the kids," he said.
Modi said IPL has silenced its critics and is on its way to become the biggest reality show.
"... the skeptics out then said that Twenty20 is not a cricket format that anybody is going to follow, it's not something that the public is going to embrace. It's just gimmicks and bells and whistles and we did a lot of research and we found that if we took this three-hour format, it's like a movie.
"... it's probably going to be the biggest reality show if we are able to really make it competitive and people don't know what's happening or who is going to win. And if you get the right players to play we have a winning formula," Modi said.
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