Lalit Modi, considered to be the mind behind the inception of the Indian Premier League, recently weighed in on why he believes that cricket in the USA will never work. The 61-year-old explained that even if there are a lot of Indians residing in America, they’ll only shell out the big bucks to watch big name stars playing.
“You look Major League Cricket (MLC). It just finished. I called up my friend Chris Gayle. ‘Chris, I see you in Texas. What’s the atmosphere like?’ He said, ‘my brother it’s dead’. There’s nobody in the stadium. There was nobody in the stadium. They think that the cricket going to the Olympics is going to fuel America. It ain’t happening now, this decade, next decade, next 50 years,” Modi said in the Beyond23 Cricket podcast with former Australia captain Michael Clarke.
The first season of the MLC was held in 2023, with the MI New York franchise winning the title. There were six founding teams in the first season of the MLC: the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom.
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Why Modi thinks cricket won’t work in USA
Modi also said that not everybody in the USA will be interested in other sports which is similar to other countries not tuning in to events that is popular in America like the NBA, NFL or baseball. To prove his point, he cited the example of the recent Club World Cup in the USA where the Metlife Stadium had to slash ticket prices from $473.90 to $13.40 for a Chelsea vs Fluminese semifinal match.
“I am a businessman expat sitting anywhere in the world in America, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Am I going to see somebody called Virat Singh playing against Dushyant Singh. Against Lalit Singh. I’ve never heard of them. All that I want is to watch and spend my money to watch Virat Kohli. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee,” he said.
Watch: Lalit Modi’s podcast with Michael Clarke:
“Does anybody watch basketball in the UK, in Europe, in Africa, in India? No. The NBA. Does anybody watch the NFL in any other country? No, it’s the USA. Does anybody watch baseball in any other country? No. Does anybody even watch football in the US, which is a global sport? They’ve taken Messi after so many years… I was a major investor in major league soccer when I owned ESPN in 1995-96. I lost so much money it didn’t work. It’s not going to work even now. The Club World Championship finished last weekend where Trump presented the trophy. Did you see what came out today? They priced the tickets at $400! They couldn’t sell them for $13,” he added.
Does anybody watch basketball in the UK, in Europe, in Africa, in India? No. The NBA. Does anybody watch the NFL in any other country? No, it’s the USA. Does anybody watch baseball in any other country? No.
Emphasis on star players?
Modi also said that now people watch sports only for stars. If there are no stars, it’s unlikely any tournament will succeed.
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“Now, India Pakistan played in New York. We filled the stadium. Did anybody fill any other stadium in the world cup that just happened in America? No. Does anybody watch Ranji Trophy in India? No. Does anybody watch local leagues anywhere? No. Now people watch star players. If there are no stars, no Indian stars, why will the Indian expatriate population or the Commonwealth population watch major league cricket?” he said.