'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,' Modi said on his Twitter page.
Lalit Modi, deserted, debarred and dumped by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was incommunicado for most of Monday after being suspended from the Indian Premier League (IPL) chairmanship in a midnight move on Sunday. It later emerged that Modi had spent a ‘restful day in a spa’.
With his phone switched off, he stuck to his now favourite medium, to relay his plans for a fightback — Twitter. “Thank you all for your message of support. It is really appreciated. I am still the chairman of the IPL. Just suspended. Wait — we have just begun,” he tweeted. He urged his ‘followers’ to wait for the ‘revelations’ he had earlier promised even as the media waited for his invitation for a likely press conference which did not happen on Monday.
In the media briefing that did take place, BCCI president Shashank Manohar appointed vice-president Chirayu Amin as interim chairman. The board also issued a five-point charge sheet and a showcause notice to Modi and suspended him pending inquiry. Manohar, in an ironically similar voice to Modi’s, said, “He is suspended. It’s not a punishment.” Modi has been given 15 days to reply to the showcause notice.
It is learnt that the charges against Modi could lead to more than a suspension. If a section of the BCCI is to be believed, the now former IPL chief may face the prospect of expulsion in September when the annual general meeting takes place. His fate, in many ways, depends on his reply. Modi is expected to challenge the suspension.
The charges, which were also read out at the governing council meeting, included financial irregularities in deals, bid rigging, misconduct and kickbacks.
Modi, who was absent after having presided over those meetings for nearly three years, had support from only one member. IS Bindra argued vociferously in his favour and found nothing amiss in the deals signed by the ousted chairman.
But he did not receive any support. Even members like Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri kept quiet.
The three paid members were later given the charge of exploring the issue of retention of players by the franchises. A proposal has been moved that the teams could be allowed to retain four Indians and three foreign players. The idea was originally arch-rival N Srinivasan’s; Modi was stubbornly opposing it.
Meanwhile, Amin was a surprise replacement after Manohar refused to accept the job. Known to be a no-nonsense administrator, Amin, a vice-president from West Zone, may hold the post till the AGM in September when the BCCI comes up with a new candidate. Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the BCCI, has been asked to look into the documents of the IPL.
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