New book on Srinivasan, Lalit Modi's role in IPL hits the market

The seventh edition of IPL may have ended without major controversies but those with an urge to know more about how the league spread its wings over the last seven years can get hold of a new book that has hit the market recently.

Journalist Alam Srinivas' book, 'Cricket Czars: Two men who changed gentleman's game', chronicles events over the last seven years about how Lalit Modi and N Srinivasan ran the cash-rich league since its inception.

A business journalist, who is now executive editor of the the magazine 'India Legal', has split the book into two parts. The first part is on Srinivasan while the second part of the 253-page book is on IPL's founder Modi.

The readers will get a peek into the makings of both the sports administrators and has tried to objectively point out their mode of operation while being at the helm of the richest sporting body in India and running its most marquee product.

In the Srinivasan part, one will find some extensive coverage of the Tamil Nadu strongman's early days in business at the India Cements. His strained relationship with his own brother - the current IOA supremo N Ramachandran, which led to the latter's exit from the company after he sold his stake for a whopping amount.

It also reveals interesting facts about Srinivasan's faith in the words of his spiritual guru Dr Karthikeyan Venkatesan.

On Page 69 of the book, the author claims to have spoken to a member of the Delhi Daredevils and revealed the differences in the make-up of the two dressing rooms at the Chepauk on the insistence of a vedic expert.

"The pillars, mirrors, sandalwood and kumkum would suck out rival team's strength as well as its positive energies. It would help CSK win," a member of an IPL franchise stated as per the author's claim.

On Page 71, the author claimed that an e-mail sent by Venkatesan to Srinivasan prior to CSK's final against Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in 2013 was forwarded to skipper MS Dhoni.

The e-mail had "several things that Dhoni, team management and team owners should do to ensure victory.