Lalit Modi’s Jaipur team of the IPL has been picked up by a relatively unknown company called Emerging Media for $ 67 million. With the state having no recognisable star as such interest has grown in the company’s promoters. From running a reality show on the lines of Indian Idol to successfully bidding for a team of his own, Manoj Badale, chairman, Investors In Cricket (IIC) has come a long way. The UK-based Indian entrepreneur, along with the son of global media baron Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan, and other international investors came under the umbrella of Emerging Media. For Badale, the fact that he now owns a team in the much-talked about multi-million dollar league is an occasion to rejoice. Cricket Star, his brainchild - a nation-wide talent hunt - and approved by the Board, had failed to find its feet in this cricket-crazy country. With IPL, there’s a lot that Badale’s now looking forward to. “The IPL will spruce up India ‘s domestic circuit. We have always believed in the Twenty20 vision, its growing popularity and to get an opportunity to work on this in India, especially with something like the IPL to look forward to, is really good,” Badale told The Indian Express after the bids were announced. Recently, his company had tied up with the Rajasthan Cricket Association to get started with a cricket academy of which former India coach Greg Chappell happens to be the director. Does that mean Badale would call for Chappell’s services in his IPL team? “I don’t think so. We will have a new team for the IPL and we’re planning on that already,” says IIC CEO Fraser Castellino. The other partner in Emerging Media, Murdoch happens to be the only name as far as successful bidders from Australia are concerned.
