Hasan Minhaj: ‘India made ICC their slaves’ – American comedian lifts lid on BCCI control of global cricket ahead of World Cup
- In his ‘Patriot Act’ show on Netflix, the former Trevor Noah correspondent explains how world cricket has enslaved itself to India’s billions
- Ex-IPL mogul Lalit Modi accepts blame for helping BCCI grow bigger than the game, saying the Indian body controls the ICC
India’s cricket billions is stifling the growth of the sport globally, American-Indian comedian Hasan Minhaj says in an episode of his Netflix show, Patriot Act, as the former Daily Show correspondent lifts the lid on how the rest of the world has effectively enslaved itself to the BCCI.
Released just days before the start of the 50-over World Cup in England, the 33-year-old Minhaj dedicates 26 expletive-laden and humorous minutes explaining to an American audience how the BCCI (India’s cricket governing body) has used the multibillion-dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) to reduce the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other countries to mere puppets.
He also features comments from former West Indies cricketers Brian Lara and Michael Holding as well as his own interview with banned former IPL mogul Lalit Modi – who was found guilty of corruption by the BCCI in 2013,but admits to helping the body become bigger than the sport itself.
“In 2019, cricket is becoming less inclusive because of corruption and greed and no country is more to blame than India,” says Minhaj. “India has become so dominant, it is stifling the growth of international cricket, which is odd because the goal was originally about expansion [spread by the British Empire].”
