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The Pretoria-born De Villiers headed up the governing body of men's world tennis between June 2005 and December 2008 and during his tenure he secured record-breaking levels of prize money for players and a clutch of new world-class tournaments which raised $1 billion of new investment.
The IPL chairperson and commissioner Modi said that the governing body of the mega-rich Twenty20 league had appointed De Villiers to drive the marketing and advertising campaign in South Africa.
De Villiers and Modi had previously been business partners for several years and both have had strong ties in the past with The Walt Disney Company, a world leader in family entertainment and media enterprise.
De Villiers explained that after he accepted the position with the IPL he decided to call on South Africa's 1995 World Cup winning captain Pienaar to assist with the marketing operation.
"We aim to build on the fun, entertainment and excitement that the IPL became famous for in its first year in 2008," said De Villiers.
"The IPL presents a turbo charged cricketing and family event. For example, there will be live music, performances by Cirque du Soleil and a host of innovations at each game that will make it a wonderful outing for all members of the family."
