IPL star-crossed? Team owners hit by bad luck

A leading Mumbai businessman, once interested in buying an Indian Premier League franchise today wants nothing to do with the glamorous cricket league. He believes IPL is bringing bad luck to team owners. Dramatic as it may sound, a quick look at where the owners have landed up post their IPL buys tends to lend credence to this expression of superstition. The businessman was insistent: "Vijay Mallya, Subrata Roy, Venkattram Reddy, the Maran brothers, even Lalit Modi - just look where they are. Isn't it eerie?"

As facts go, the businessman isn't off the mark. Subrata Roy is in jail, Reddy was arrested, Mallya is in trouble with the authorities, Maranowned Sun TV is having problems with the home ministry over security clearances, Lalit Modi is wanted by ED, and Sunanda Pushkar is dead. Even love has gone missing from Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta's lives. And N Srinivasan has lost his prized BCCI president's chair.