At a time when the Indian cricket board is trying to pacify Sahara, former IPL commissioner has claimed that the league’s auction in 2009 was “rigged” in favour of Chennai Super Kings whose owner, N Srinivasan, is the BCCI chief.
Srinivasan, however, rubbished Modi’s claims by stating that there is “absolutely no substance or truth” in what he is saying.
Modi, who was the IPL chief at the time, has alleged that the rules were modified in order to allow former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to remain with Chennai.
“Flintoff auction was rigged. I made it clear that time. That onus was on me and as chairman I should have not allowed that to happen then. I was arm-twisted to allow Andrew Flintoff to go to Chennai Super Kings.
“I’m to blame for that. It’s a fact. Similar problem happened with the Pakistani players. Arm-twisting happened by senior BCCI officials that nobody should pick them,” Modi told a television channel.
“Subroto (Roy, Sahara Group chief) is right when he says there is no level playing field. Over past few seasons we have seen rules being changed to benefit one team or the other. The IPL was built on the premises that there should be a level playing field.
“That’s why we had auction, the capping — the maximum money one can pay and there should be no side trading. But over the years the auction rules have changed and it’s to the detriment of some teams,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, Srinivasan, who was the BCCI secretary at the time, said it was surprising that Modi was making these allegations after three years.
Modi’s allegations come close on the heels of Sahara India announcing its decision to pull out of its sponsorship of the Indian team and ownership of the Pune Warriors IPL franchise.
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