You gave cricket a bad name, BCCI tells Modi, wants reply

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Mumbai , April 26: Lalit Modi, the face of the IPL over the last three years, will cease to remain so following his suspension on Sunday night and the elevation of board vice-president Chirayu Amin as interim chairman of the league. 
BCCI president Shashank Manohar waited for the conclusion of IPL-3 before suspending him and issuing him a showcause notice on five charges. “While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL Season 3, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr Lalit K. Modi, chairman IPL and vice-president BCCI, have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself,” Mr Manohar said in a press release announcing Mr Modi’s suspension from the BCCI, IPL and any other related committee.

“The charges basically are with regard to the initial bids of Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab. And the second allegation is in regard to the broadcasting deal,” Mr Manohar said. “The third allegation is with regard to the bid-rigging of the two new franchisees. The fourth allegation is with regard to the Internet rights. The fifth is with regard to the behavioural pattern of Modi,” Mr Manohar said.
Mr Manohar said there is no involvement of any of Union minister Sharad Pawar’s relatives either in the present or the initial bids. Later on Monday, an undeterred Mr Modi maintained he was still chairman of the lucrative league, and that his suspension was temporary. Returning to Twitter, Mr Modi said: “Thank you all for your message of support. It is really appreciated. I am still chairman of IPL. Just suspended. Wait — we have just begun.” He then added: “Had a restful day. Been in the spa all day. Much needed rest.” What exactly he meant by the “wait and see” reference is not immediately evident but the board is intent on denying Mr Modi wriggle-room.
The charges against the suspended IPL chairman range from bid-rigging — to facilitate his relatives in Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI — to broadcasting deals and to his behavioural pattern.
Having ruled the IPL with an iron fist for more than three years, Mr Modi was suspended from all activities of the board pending an inquiry and given 15 days time to reply to the notice following which action, if necessary, would be taken against him.
“IPL is a great property and loved all over the globe. Commercial aspect in an important thing. However, ethics and transparency are very important in such an event. Since the last 15 days, there were lot of allegations and counter-allegations made through the media,” said Mr Manohar, addressing a crowded and heated press conference at the BCCI’s Cricket Centre on Monday afternoon.
Not wishing to disrupt the tournament, which has become a global phenomenon, the board waited until the end of the event before taking action against Mr Modi, bringing to a halt, at least temporarily, the stand-off between the BCCI bosses and the suspended IPL chairman.
“The board looked into the allegations which were levelled and took a decision to issue a showcause notice to Mr Lalit Modi and pending inquiry decided to suspend him. But as the tournament was on, we never wanted the tournament to be disrupted or any problems created in the tournament.”
Mr Modi’s only hope in this huge mess is to come up with satisfactory answers and though he did show a lot of bravado on Sunday night in his emotional speech at the presentation ceremony, his future in the board looks bleak. “The board will hold, after receiving the reply from Mr Modi, an inquiry in the matter, if necessary, or if the reply of Mr Modi convinces the members the proceedings would be dropped.”
The first charge levelled against Modi is the allegation that he was purported to have indulged in bid-rigging to help his relatives gain ownership in the Jaipur and Mohali franchises. Both franchisees are on record indicating everything is above board. But the very fact that Rajasthan Royals was picked up for the lowest bid of $67 million in the first auction in 2008 is itself under the scanner.
The second charge against Mr Modi stems from the alleged $80 million that he is supposed to have received to facilitate the broadcasting deal between Multi Screen Media (MSM) and World Sports Group. Many of these confidential documents are missing and Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of the BCCI, has been entrusted with the task of looking into and finding these records.
The third allegation concerns the bids of the two new franchisees (Team Kochi and Team Pune. Kochi have registered a complaint of arm-twisting by Mr Modi to surrender their bid rights after winning it for $333.33 million).
The fourth allegation is about Internet rights awarded to Global Cricket Ventures, a company owned by his step son-in-law Gaurav Burman. The fifth is the behavioural pattern of Mr Modi, specifically on his tweeting official information and leaking news to the media.
Left with a clean-up act, the board has turned to Mr Chirayu Amin, an industrialist and the president of the Baroda Cricket Association. Interestingly, only 11 of the 13 governing council members attended the meeting convened by N. Srinivasan, with Union minister Farooq Abdullah and treasurer M.P. Pandove skipping the meeting while Mr Modi was debarred following his suspension.
Also, former India captains Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have been entrusted with the job of running IPL in 2011.
 

Ravi Chakravarthy