NEW DELHI: Lalit Modi, the architect of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has revealed that he as soon as pledged to reward Indian cricketers with a Porsche in the event that they managed the uncommon feat of hitting six sixes or taking six wickets in a single over throughout the 2007 T20 World Cup. Not lengthy after, Yuvraj Singh achieved the unbelievable towards England’s Stuart Broad, and Modi saved his phrase—receiving Yuvraj’s iconic bat in trade.The revelation got here on a podcast with former Australian captain Michael Clarke, the place Modi narrated how he had walked into the Indian dressing room earlier than the match to announce the extraordinary incentive.
“Anybody hit six sixes or take six wickets in an over … I’ll give you a Porsche from my pocket,” Modi recalled on the @Beyond23CricketPod podcast.Under MS Dhoni’s management, a youthful Indian aspect went on to carry the inaugural T20 World Cup, a triumph that grew to become the catalyst for the delivery of the IPL, now the preferred cricket league worldwide.Yuvraj’s blistering six sixes off Broad made historical past, and proper after his knock, he reminded Modi of the promise.“Yuvraj, looks at me on the boundary … he raises the bat, and he comes running to me, ‘I want my Porsche’, I said, give me the bat,” Modi recounted.The deal noticed Yuvraj drive away in a Porsche, whereas Modi secured the bat that symbolised one of probably the most unforgettable moments in cricket. The bat nonetheless has satisfaction of place in his dwelling as a cherished piece of historical past.Yuvraj’s heroics in that marketing campaign not solely energized Indian cricket followers but in addition laid the inspiration for the IPL’s phenomenal rise.