“Wait for the IPL to finish. I will reveal the men who have tried to bring disrepute to the game and how we stopped them from doing it,” Mr Modi said on his Twitter page on Saturday. On a day that started with the news of his resignation as the IPL’s top boss, Mr Modi remained defiant refusing to bow out without a fight. The IPL commissioner dared the BCCI to sack him at the governing council meeting on Monday.
“People pressurising (sic) me to resign — I can tell you (it) will not happen. Let them remove me then,” Modi tweeted. “What we have done has been there for all of you to see for the past four years. No one can take that away,” he added.
Earlier, the BCCI brass, who ignored the IPL Awards on Friday night, were involved in meetings throughout the day to chalk out a plan to remove Modi from his post. The board also refused Mr Modi’s request of five days’ time to prepare his defence.
Mr Modi, who has been under pressure from all quarters after income-tax surveys, also hit out at the media. “The media putting stories without verification goes to show how they can misuse their power. Truth will prevail soon. Trial by media and no chance to present the facts is like the Wild West. Wait and the facts will be delivered,” Mr Modi said.
Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports that former BCCI president Sharad Pawar wanted the BCCI to offer an honourable exit to Mr Modi, whom he had backed when the scandal initially broke out.
The board also held the Champions League governing council meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, which was attended by Cricket South Africa’s Gerald Majola and Cricket Australia’s James Sutherland, but Mr Modi (the chairman of the CLT20 board) was not invited.
In all this, Mr Modi has continued to receive support from IPL team owners like Vijay Mallya and Bollywood’s Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty.
Age Correspondent