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The very first act of the interim IPL chief, Chirayu Amin, is to shut down those parties. “The parties will be stopped, “ he declared, bringing to an end the extravaganza introduced by the suspended IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi.
Same may be the case for cheer leaders, whose presence in IPL matches was criticised by political parties and social groups, although Amin has not made any categorical statement regarding their continuation in IPL 4.
Many top-rung cricketers never attended the IPL’s glitzy parties, called IPL Nights, in five star hotels or clubs. For example, Indian team catpain M S Dhoni said he had not attended a single one.
Attending the parties was not compulsory for the players but it is common knowledge that many players, particularly foreigners and the new entrants, were cajoled to join the parties, which obviously took a toll on their performance.
Not only players, but the presence of Bollywood stars would guarantee bigger crowds and lot of glamour to those IPL parties. Those closely associated with event management say that in the case of the IPL, it implied that it would be good for a franchisee or a team member to partake in the party.
The post-match party was, interestingly, the brainchild of IPL’s Hospitality Manager, Poorna Patel, the daughter of Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. Poorna herself was in the news for the alleged leakage of confidential documents relating to bidding, but the BCCI itself clarified that what Poorna mailed to her father was documents related to bidding process and there was nothing confidential about it.
Bollywood link
The contract for organising these IPL parties was given to actor Arjun Rampal and his wife and former model, Mehr Jessia. They used their Bollywood and fashion world contacts to ensure the presence of designers, celebrities and cheerleaders.
To participate in these IPL nights, one had to shell out Rs 40,000 to buy a VIP ticket for a match with an invitation to one of the parties. And, all the 55 matches and parties were bundled into a package of Rs 22 lakh. Now that the high-flying Modi remains suspended as the chairman and commissioner of the IPL league, the Modi legacy too appears to be in the verge of extinction.