Should we remotely care about how the IPL is run?
You bet we should. India is the dominant financial force in world cricket and the IPL has the power to shape the future of the game. Many already fear its power, but if that was proven to go hand in hand with ingrained, long-term corruption, the effects on cricket worldwide would be devastating.
Lalit Modi, remind me who he is?
Modi was elected as president of the Rajasthan cricket association in 2005, backed the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar in the overthrow of Jagmohan Dalmiya and prospered as a result. He was regarded as the brains behind the franchise-based IPL when it launched in 2007, and the Champions League, a world club tournament. The public auction of the world's top players for the IPL was a masterstroke, drawing huge publicity, and Modi has revelled in it. He was overthrown in Rajasthan last December, but stayed on the Board of Control for Cricket in India because, shrewd fellow that he is, he had built a new power base in the Punjab.
When did it all begin to go wrong?
Bids took place for two new IPL franchises in March. Sahara, an Indian multinational, won Pune and the Rendezvous group got Kochi. Shashi Tharoor, a junior foreign minister in the Congress government, played a "mentoring role" in a bid that attracted controversy. Modi, said to be unhappy at Kochi's success, could not resist an outburst on Twitter. "I was told not to get into who owns Rendezvous, specially Sunanda Pushkar. Why?" he tweeted. Pushkar, who owns a Dubai spa business, is alleged to have a relationship with Tharoor.
And then escalation followed, I suppose?
Ever such a little. Tharoor denied that he had a stake in Kochi, but resigned as a minister, his political career in crisis. Pushkar relinquished her stake, and felt badly in need of a spa session. Kochi alleged that Modi had offered them $50m (£32.3m) to abandon their bid, an allegation he rejected. Indian tax officials raided offices of the Indian board and the IPL, and Modi's home. Further raids followed on the offices of broadcast rights holders and franchise holders in Kolkata, Deccan and the Punjab. Modi, after a week of politicking, was served a suspension notice after the IPL final for "alleged acts of individual misdemeanours."
What will happen now?
The likelihood is that an investigation will drag on for months, if not longer. Modi is making noises about collective responsibility, so if he falls others may fall with him. The IPL will survive because it is too big to fail; in what form though – and with what restrictions on ownership – remains to be seen.
How will the England and Wales Cricket Board feel about Modi's demise?
Privately, it will be delighted by rumours of impropriety. The relationship between Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, and Modi has been a clash of egos and Modi has held all the high cards. The ECB's mistrust of Modi, and unwillingness to negotiate a slice of India's largesse at any price, led to them running to Sir Allen Stanford, a Texan billionaire, only for their alternative strategy to collapse when Stanford was accused of an US$8bn fraud. India has blocked its players from taking part in England's Twenty20 this summer, in what is suspected to be a Modi-inspired ruse to keep English cricket in place. The ECB has a stronger relationship with the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, who is now making his influence felt.
And after all the fuss who won the IPL final?