Unabashed and unbowed, maverick cricket administrator Lalit Modi has hit back at the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its disciplinary committee, saying he had been framed for financial irregularities while running the Indian Premier League.
He now faces the prospect of a life ban from the game in the country, which could be ratified at the special general meeting of the Board in Chennai on September 25.
Speaking to a news channel, in the course of which he gave a spirited — and convincing — rebuttal of the charges the BCCI had brought against him after his sacking following the final of the 2010 IPL, Modi said he had not been given enough time to present his defence.
“They (the BCCI) presented their witnesses for 20 months and I was not allowed to do the same. They could have given me another two weeks time more,” the former IPL chairman said.
“The hearings started on September 26, 2010 and for 20 months, the BCCI put forth their witnesses and statements recorded. My defence began only on March 3, 2013 and abruptly ended on April 22, 2013.
“They did not give time for me to come down myself. They said they will not take further submissions,” he said from London. where he now lives following reports of threats to his life.
Former IPL commissioner-cum-chairman Modi, who was charged on 11 counts by the Indian cricket board, was suspended immediately after the closing ceremony in 2010 on charges of financial irregularities in running of the league as well as allegedly rigging bids during the auction of two new teams before 2010 IPL.
The disciplinary committee included BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley, finance committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia and former IPL commissioner Chirayu Amin. On Tuesday, it submitted a 133-page report to the Board into the allegations against Modi.
On the charges surrounding the auction bids, Modi said, “I did not do anything like that. What I did was to ask the bidders if they had enough bank guarantee and that I did to safeguard the interest of the BCCI. That was not to benefit me.
“What I incorporated was not done by me alone. Those were approved by the BCCI lawyers,” he added.
About the issue of Kochi franchise’s sale, Modi said, “What I told Kochi was that they have to survive. They don’t have a stadium and I said they should not be thinking that we will shift the IPL matches to Ahmedabad for them.”
In support of Modi, former BCCI president Inderjit Sing Bindra tweeted on the day: “BCCI is as usual in fixing game... trying to fix Lalit Modi to cover up the exposure of 10,000 crores.”