New Delhi:
For many years I had a dream that India could have a sports league that could be envied by the whole world, I dreamt that a national passion cricket would captivate fans all over the world, as we conclude the third edition of the IPL tonight, I stand here with joy and happiness of a dream realised, though the events on the ground have been a grand success, we have had some unpleasant off field dramas only based on innuendos, half truths and motivated leaks from all types of sources.
I assure you all the decisions have been taken jointly by the governing council and approved by the general body of both the seasons 1 and 2 of the IPL.
Still as leader of the team I reassure you that if there is any flouting of the rules and regulations or any other irregularities I shall take full responsibility. On this occasion, I reassure millions of passionate fans of the league across the globe that the IPL is clean and transparent with your support and blessings we have achieved worldwide recognition and are one of the best sporting leagues ever, we should not let the brand to be diluted , it must emerge much stronger through this process of sublimation, and we will with millions and millions of supporters of the game, icons of the game and with some of the most promising talent we will carry this forward and not allow its value and image to be diminished.
As the Zen proverb said, the obstacle is our path, the IPL has faced many challenges this season, it has not been an easy journey, however we have met these challenges face on and not once have the teams buckled under pressure , I would like to thank my team, many led by Sunder Raman and our partners for the many thousands of working hours and unwavering support and professionalism that they have shown, thank you also to the teams, players, media partners, sponsors, BCCI members, governing council members, the government who stayed and executed this, all have played a huge part in making the IPL what it is today, many a thing has been said about the IPL in the last two weeks but I am here as a humble servant of the game and to administer my duties to the best of my abilities.
As the bhagvad gita says, fear not what is not real, never was and never will be, what is real, always was and cannot be destroyed. All I wanted is to leave a small footprint in the glorious history of the game, I thank my family, my children who have stood by me through the trying times all these years and continuously stay with me, I take my strength from them, my final thank you is to you, the fans all over the world, we missed you last year in India and it's wonderful to be back home, it's your passion and this is the reason we built the IPL, it's your passion that sustains us, your passion that enriches us, this is not the Indian Premier League, it's the Indian People League. I humbly dedicate my dream to all the people in this country, thank you.
I assure you all the decisions have been taken jointly by the governing council and approved by the general body of both the seasons 1 and 2 of the IPL.
Still as leader of the team I reassure you that if there is any flouting of the rules and regulations or any other irregularities I shall take full responsibility. On this occasion, I reassure millions of passionate fans of the league across the globe that the IPL is clean and transparent with your support and blessings we have achieved worldwide recognition and are one of the best sporting leagues ever, we should not let the brand to be diluted , it must emerge much stronger through this process of sublimation, and we will with millions and millions of supporters of the game, icons of the game and with some of the most promising talent we will carry this forward and not allow its value and image to be diminished.
As the Zen proverb said, the obstacle is our path, the IPL has faced many challenges this season, it has not been an easy journey, however we have met these challenges face on and not once have the teams buckled under pressure , I would like to thank my team, many led by Sunder Raman and our partners for the many thousands of working hours and unwavering support and professionalism that they have shown, thank you also to the teams, players, media partners, sponsors, BCCI members, governing council members, the government who stayed and executed this, all have played a huge part in making the IPL what it is today, many a thing has been said about the IPL in the last two weeks but I am here as a humble servant of the game and to administer my duties to the best of my abilities.
As the bhagvad gita says, fear not what is not real, never was and never will be, what is real, always was and cannot be destroyed. All I wanted is to leave a small footprint in the glorious history of the game, I thank my family, my children who have stood by me through the trying times all these years and continuously stay with me, I take my strength from them, my final thank you is to you, the fans all over the world, we missed you last year in India and it's wonderful to be back home, it's your passion and this is the reason we built the IPL, it's your passion that sustains us, your passion that enriches us, this is not the Indian Premier League, it's the Indian People League. I humbly dedicate my dream to all the people in this country, thank you.
