New Delhi, April 11 -- The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got the spicy start it didn't particularly need when its exiled former chief, Lalit Modi, took a swipe at Lucknow Super Giants' owner Sanjiv Goenka on X. Reacting to a viral video of Goenka in a heated exchange with captain Rishabh Pant, Modi dismissed him as a "complete loser and joker", and demanded he be banned for bringing the league into disrepute.

That's rich coming from a man whose own record with the league ended in suspension, investigation and sacking. Goenka, to his credit, chose silence, which is an unfamiliar discipline in Modi's world.

The outburst was entirely in character. Last December, Modi shared a video from a London party featuring another fu...