Lalit Modi
The IPL was Lalit’s Mission Mangal, a magnificent achievement to be accomplished by him alone. He was a climber who wanted a selfie on Mt Everest without anyone else in the frame—a paradoxical situation where one individual bossed over a team sport. Never short of self-confidence, he was sure of his role in the IPL universe and was not shy about projecting himself. He used the media to create a personality cult, doing interviews and photo shoots as film stars do before a major release. It was difficult to decide what he loved more—himself or the power and reach that the IPL provided him. He was a performer and always on stage. On a personal level, Lalit was warm and charming, a gracious and generous host. He lived life king-size, everything about him was magnified.

Rahul Dravid 
In South Africa, during the IPL (2009), while others saw the glittering lights and the dazzling spectacle, he detected dark clouds in the distance. Over a seafood dinner, he introduced me to fried calamari and warned about the disturbing trend in domestic cricket: It is worrying that young kids will give this priority over Ranji and Test cricket. Dravid himself revelled in the challenge of five-day cricket. He is a champion worrier who, in his own words, strives to become the best version of himself. 

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Sourav Ganguly 
Sourav’s understanding of Indian cricket history could be sketchy, but he was up to speed on runs, averages and strike rates of players. While he admired England’s cricket structure, he had difficulty adjusting to county cricket’s discipline and professionalism. He was a modern pro with charmingly old-fashioned ideas about fitness, fielding and training. He would turn up late for meetings, miss a gym session, fix a net for practice and not land up. Sourav changed Indian cricket.

Excerpted with permission from Pitchside: My Life in Indian Cricket by Amrit Mathur, published by Westland Sport