Sundar Raman: The man who knew his math

Should an Indian cricket administrator now be hit on the face with a multi-million dollar pay-deal to hear of his proximity to dubious men, if any, before court-appointed committees, riding on a wave of public outrage and in the backdrop some serious dirt eating into cricket, swept him away.
Vindoo Dara Singh, the man Sundar was accused of speaking with, is an unsuccessful wannabe who liked to be seen with whoever he could and would therefore find his way into IPL hospitality boxes.Sundar, who among his other responsibilities also handled IPL's hospitality got tangled in affairs.
The door to exit the IPL had been opened for him the day Shashank Manohar took over as president of the board, the latter making it very clear that all those who had come into questioning by the Supreme Court appointed panels post the spot-fixing controversy would be dealt with. The writing had been on the wall.
But before it came to the controversies the tournament was a challenge for not just the BCCI but also the investors. Introducing surrogate advertising policies, generating pink paper reports, outsourcing surveys, handling heavyweight commercial partners, monitoring television ratings, creating digital platforms and most importantly making money out of it all was a test that all stakeholders in cricket faced.
It was Sundar's presentation back in 2007-08 on these host of issues, an impressive one admit those who've worked with him, that prompted Modi and BCCI to immediately bring him on board. His critics and confidantes ­ and he has plenty of both ­ were on the same page when it came to his genius in getting the math right.
The day he joined BCCI, he didn't even have an official email to start with. That's the extent to which the board had been singularly unprofessional. Today, after eight years of having Sundar around, things have changed. The cricket board has gone digital, has a massive presence on social media, Indian cricket now has a home season, there's a young and dynamic marketing and communications team and the IPL ­ despite all its skirmishes ­ is a tournament that continues to generate money and eyeballs.
Even in his last week as IPL COO, the 43-year-old was busy at the BCCI's headquarters finishing the necessary documentations to make way for another franchise and player auction.
Unfortunately for Sundar, his work alone wasn't enough to underline his credentials. Given the gossiping kinds who flood Indian cricket's many pockets, they always referred to him as the man who betrayed Modi to be with Srinivasan, knowing when to switch sides before anyone could step on his toes. "Why can't they see me as someone who's just paid to do a job? Why should I have to be a Modi-man or a Srini-man to earn my salary? As long as I do my job well, it shouldn't matter," he once told this writer.