Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Amidst nationwide tax probe on the Indian Premier League (IPL) and its franchises, the chief of the country’s cricket administration Thursday said the tournament’s governing council meet April 26 will go ahead as scheduled despite questions raised by its chief Lalit Modi.
“Under the board constitution, the secretary is the convenor of all meetings. Even today I don’t convene a meeting, being the board president,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar said at the headquarters of the board here.

The meeting of IPL’s governing council has been convened by BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan in the wake of charges of financial irregularities by the league and its franchises, as also a breach of confidentiality by Modi by selectively leaking the names of owners of one of the franchises.

Modi had questioned the legality of the scheduled meeting Wednesday and said only he had the powers to convene it. His camp said since Srinivasan-led India Cements owned the Chennai franchise, there was conflict of interest.

“It is his viewpoint. Everybody is entitled to their viewpoints,” Manohar said when asked to comment on the charges of improper conduct levelled by the Modi camp against Srinivasan. “He (Srinivasan) is not calling the meeting as the owner of a team.”

Maintaining that then BCCI president and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had given an okay to India Cements to bid for IPL, Manohar slammed the IPL commissioner for not declaring to the governing council that his own relatives were part owners of IPL teams.

“It is not that Srinivasan is bidding. It is India Cements company which is bidding and it is a public limited company,” Manohar told reporters with the India Cements vice chairman and managing director by his side.

“It is most unfair to say Srinivasan was a declared bidder. If Modi and his other relatives had a share in any of the franchises, he ought to have declared it at the meeting,” the BCCI chief maintained.

Manohar also sought to clear his name from another controversy over his gag orders on Modi to refrain from revealing the names of IPL franchises, claiming there was a confidentiality clause they were bound by.

On the contrary, the Manohar said, the IPL chief was selective in leaking the names of owners of one of the franchises — resulting in the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as minister of state for external affairs because of his (Tharoor) friend Sunanda Pushakar’s link to the franchise.

Manohar said he had asked Modi to keep quiet since one of the franchises had said there was a confidentially clause in not revealing the names of its owners and accordingly wanted to discuss the issue at the governing council meeting.