Lalit Modi deserves credit: Pandit

29th May 2008

For the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) to run smoothly in its inaugural year, a lot of people have held responsibility and stuck to their roles, however hectic they are. One such person is television personality Shiv Pandit who is a presenter with SET Max Entertainment, which is the official broadcaster of the IPL.

Shiv, who is a familiar face in Indian advertising circles, admitted that he joined the IPL broadcast panel without knowing what he was getting into at the start of the IPL. But he was overjoyed that the tournament has exceeded his expectations and is now a raving success. Unlike many purists of the game, Shiv said that he doesn't believe Twenty20 cricket will affect Test cricket or one-day internationals adding that this format carves a niche of its own in the scheme of things.

According to him, "I believe this format (Twenty20) makes a place for its own. It has a different audience consisting of women and children who do not cater to one-day internationals and Test cricket. They find it easier and simpler because of the elements involved in Twenty20."

He credits the success of the Twenty20 extravaganza to IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi saying that Modi has had this idea since a long time and this was a perfect time to launch a tournament like this. He added that in the coming years, sustained participation from other teams and the ICC creating a window for such an event could make it bigger and much grander than it already is.

Shiv modestly says that he was approached with the role of television presenter as the tournament heads were looking for a fresh face on television which the 'youth' could relate to. He seems to love his job so much so that he is seriously considering broadcast as one of his career options along with acting.

Despite Delhi Daredevils being his favourite team of the tournament, Shiv admits that his all-time favourite player will always be Sachin Tendulkar from the Mumbai Indians.

However he added that the way Shane Warne and Yuvraj Singh have conducted themselves and their teams during the tournament have made him their ardent fans.

He cited his favourite IPL moment as 'Yuvraj Singh's diving run-out' which put a huge dent to Mumbai's road to the semi-finals, from which they failed to recover.