INDIAN cricket bosses today replaced the suspended chief of the Indian Premier League, Lalit Modi, capping the demise of one of the game’s most high-profile and controversial figures.
Modi, the brash driving force behind the money-spinning IPL, was removed as the chairman of the tournament, as vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and as head of the BCCI marketing committee.
“The present IPL governing council has been dissolved,” BCCI President Shashank Manohar told a packed press conference in Mumbai after an annual general meeting. “All decisions were taken unanimously by the members.
“Modi is not part of the BCCI anymore. Now he cannot say that he is the suspended IPL chairman,” he added.
The changes complete the fall of Modi from one of the most powerful world cricket figures to a tarnished outsider who is now fighting to salvage his reputation after he was suspended in April due to corruption allegations.
The new IPL boss will be Chirayu Amin, who owns the pharmaceutical company Alembic and was formerly vice-president of the BCCI, while Rajiv Shukla, a ruling-party politician and cricket insider, was named vice-president.
Another politician, Farooq Abdullah, was appointed head of the BCCI marketing committee in place of Modi.
The moves to strip Modi of his responsibilities were slammed by his lawyer, Mehmood Abdi.
“It seems the entire BCCI is suffering from Modi-phobia. They are shutting all doors on his return,” Abdi said.
