NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Former Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi was the main casualty when the country’s cricket board announced five new vice-presidents yesterday leaving him without any involvement in Indian cricket.
The flamboyant industrialist, who polarised opinion with his management style, was dropped by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which suspended him as IPL chief in April saying he had “brought a bad name to the administration of cricket”.
The BCCI also gave Chirayu Amin, who was made interim IPL chief after Modi’s suspension, a one-year term at the helm of the governing council of the Twenty20 league.
The cricket board, in a statement, also named union minister Farooq Abdullah as the new chairman of the BCCI marketing committee, which Modi had headed.
“Modi is not part of the BCCI any more. He cannot say he’s suspended IPL chairman,” BCCI president Shashank Manohar was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency after the cricket board’s annual general meeting in Mumbai.
CRICKET
REVOLUTION
Under Modi, the $4 billion IPL helped revolutionise cricket with its short, television-friendly format combined with lucrative advertising and cheerleaders in packed arenas which upset many traditionalists.
Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man and the head of Reliance Industries, Vijay Mallya, who controls United Spirits, the world’s second largest alcohol maker, and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan all control teams who play in the league.
Cricket’s enormous popularity made the BCCI one of the richest sporting bodies in the world and brought to its board politicians, businessmen and royalty.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s links to the game and the NCP leader’s earlier support for Modi have caused frictions with the Congress, especially after Junior Foreign Minister Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign after Modi accused him of using political muscle to influence team bids.
Removed soon after the third edition of the league, Modi is battling charges of financial irregularities having denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, BCCI said former India captain Anil Kumble will succeed Ravi Shastri, an IPL governing council member, as the new chairman of the National Cricket Academy.
BCCI secretary N Srinivasan will take over from Shashank Manohar as the next board president.
The board also unveiled Hyderabad as a test venue.
“Hyderabad will be the new test centre and has been allotted the second Test against New Zealand (in November),” read the BCCI statement.
