IPL not my cup of tea, says Lakshmi Mittal
11 May 2010
London-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal says he does not want a cricket team in the Indian Premier League, and is "glad" he did not buy one already, given the recent controversy shrouding the twenty-twenty format of cricket.
Talking to PTI about the IPL - which is said to have an estimated brand value of over $4 billion (around Rs18,000 crore) - Mittal said, "I am glad I did not participate in it."
"No, these are all rumours," the ArcelorMittal chairman and chief executive said in reply to a query if he was looking to buy a cricket team. "I was not really interested in participating in any IPL.''
Mittal said IPL requires a lot of time and attention and so it was not making sense for him to take part in it.
Mittal, a permanent fixture on 'rich list' rankings frequently brought out by publications like Forbes and Sunday Times, also said such rankings do not matter to him.
"For me, this is not the news I focus on. These are all valuations ... it's good that people see me in a positive light. But these things do not really matter in your life," Mittal, head of the world's largest steel maker, said.