"BCCI, ECB & CA proposals threaten the world game" : Lalit Modi

[Saj]

Best known as being the Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Chairman of the Champions League between 2008 and 2010, the outspoken and flamboyant Lalit Modi has had the unique distinction of being portrayed as a pioneer and villain in the race to capture the hearts and minds of the cricketing world.

Now a vocal critic of the BCCI and the ICC, Modi spoke exclusively with PakPassion.net about the issue of corruption in the IPL, cricketing ties between India and Pakistan and the detrimental impact of the ‘Big 3’ on the governance of the sport.

PakPassion.net: Is there a lesson to be learnt for cricket authorities around the world in the way the IPL scandal has been dealt with?

Lalit Modi: Yes there is - that is, there should be no tolerance of conflicts of interest. But the cricket world won’t listen, they won’t even realise it because the world game is run by Srinivasan. Who runs the BCCI? Who runs CSK (Chennai Super Kings)? Who runs India Cements? Other sports should take note of course. Cricket is an example, a brilliant example, of how to run a sport to the detriment of the fans and the grass roots of the game.


PakPassion.net: BCCI President N Srinivasan: good for Indian cricket or not?

Lalit Modi: Bad. Very bad. Srini is running Indian cricket as his own personal fiefdom. There is no transparency, there is no democracy. He makes all the decisions and his cronies are just rubber stamps. No-one is asking ‘if we do this, is this good for the game?’. Why? Because they want to all keep their cushy jobs with Srini. It’s all self-interest. It’s an old boys club.


PakPassion.net: Do you believe the worst of the corruption in Indian cricket may not have been uncovered as yet?

Lalit Modi: I think we are on the cusp of a house of cards moment. It could all come crashing down. That would be painful to see and if you look at the history of match-fixing, this is how these things start. The last house of cards moment was Hansie Cronje. I believe we will see something similar in the next year. It will hurt but that is what the game needs, it needs to be cleansed.


PakPassion.net: How widespread do you think fixing is in the IPL?

Lalit Modi: It’s a menace and I believe spot-fixing is taking place in a lot of games. It is something which is almost impossible to prove and very easy to organise. The monies which can be made are astronomical. It works just like insider trading does in the business world and I think the authorities are slow to recognise that.


PakPassion.net: How can the IPL clean up its act?

Lalit Modi: CSK should be thrown out of the IPL. That’s a start. In the franchise agreement it clearly states that if a team brings the tournament into disrepute, they are gone. There should be no coming back from this.


PakPassion.net: Has the IPL evolved in the way that you had wanted it to?

Lalit Modi: We thought the IPL would give back to the game, back to the players. But it's actually going the other way. The bookmakers and administrators are all making money out of it, which is everything I didn't want it to be. What it was, is disappearing.

It should be the greatest tournament in the world and all the reasons to keep it alive are being used wrongly by the BCCI to bully, arm-twist and bring disrepute to the game. In five years the IPL will still exist but nothing else will. All players will play in the IPL.


PakPassion.net: How big do you think the IPL will get?

Lalit Modi: If the way the current regime is running or planning to run global cricket, there will only be the IPL in years to come.


PakPassion.net: If the reports about fixing in the IPL are correct and a number of high-profile Indian players named, what impact do you think it will have?

Lalit Modi: Television revenue will be down, ticket sales will be down. So Srini will have taken what was a wonderful business model and tournament adored by the fans and ruined it.


PakPassion.net: Do you feel the IPL is missing out by not allowing Pakistani participation?

Lalit Modi: It's all politics. I would have hoped by now the Pakistani players would be part of it. But it's all politics now.


PakPassion.net: Is there a genuine desire within the BCCI to play Pakistan if the political shackles were loosened? Is it purely politics preventing the BCCI accepting a Pakistan versus India series?

Lalit Modi: No I don't think the powers that are running the BCCI will allow these games until the PCB tow Srinivasan's line


PakPassion.net: What do you think it will take for a Pakistan versus India series to take place and how important are these games for the sub-continent?

Lalit Modi: As you know I was a champion of these games. Remember the 'Friendship' series? They are a great occasion, the fans love the contests and they are always played in the right spirit. What will it take? Well, the BCCI will use bully boy tactics to stage the matches on their grounds and Pakistani cricket will be the loser. That is clear from the proposals drafted and rubber stamped for the dissection of the ICC.

Countries like Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka - they will be worse off because they’ll be getting a smaller piece of the pie than before. And worst of all, they are supposed to be grateful for being chucked scraps from the top table where the BCCI, ECB and CA sit, gorging themselves.


PakPassion.net: What were your thoughts when you read the original white paper concocted by the ECB, BCCI and CA, in particular the anti-competitive non-relegation clause?

Lalit Modi: I was disgusted. I was fearful, because I believe it threatens the world game. I said it was the final nail in the coffin for world cricket. Remember the ICC’s mission statement was to take cricket to the world? What a joke. Everything about it from the clause you mentioned ensures the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Well, the poor will wither and die and then the world game won’t exist.


PakPassion.net: Given the Big 3's new-found power in the ICC, how should Pakistan proceed in it's dealings with the three boards?

Lalit Modi: They will be walking on eggshells I suspect.


PakPassion.net: If you were the CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board, what would you do?

Lalit Modi: That's a good question. Maybe, and I’m being mischievous here, the PCB, SLC, CSA, NZC, WICB, Zimbabwe Cricket and the Bangladesh Cricket Board should turn the tables and break away from the others. They should play amongst themselves and cut the cloth accordingly.

Maybe they could freeze out the ‘Big Three’. That would be brave, possibly foolish. But for a delicious moment they would have stood up to the bully and the bully will have no choice but to compromise. That's what I believe would be the right thing to do.


PakPassion.net: Do you think, given Pakistan's stance at the ICC meeting, the cricketing future for Pakistan looks bleak?

Lalit Modi: Yes I do. You only have to look at how the South Africans were treated and Lorgat in particular when he tried to stand up to Srini. I fear for Pakistan, I really do. They need to be playing India because they need the money to keep the sport alive. I can see the BCCI reacting badly and trying to punish them so that in future the PCB will play ball and do as they’re told.


PakPassion.net: Were you for or against the proposals by the 'Big 3' proposals? Do you feel they will have a positive impact on cricket?

Lalit Modi: Against. Vehemently. It will destroy cricket.


PakPassion.net: What do you think the cricketing universe will look like in 20 years?

Lalit Modi: India, Australia and England playing each other only and they will send their 'B' teams to the other nations because the standard would have dropped to an alarming level.

 

[Abid Z]

excellent analysis. Hits the nail on the head does Modi. Amazing how different things look when you are on the outside looking in.

 

[MenInG]

Excellent interview - Wish we had more such forward thinkers in the current Indian (and Pakistani) set up as well.

 

[Savak]

I have little tolerance or respect for people who are alleged to have committed corruption and abuse of power when they were in charge but then speak beautifully and sensibly once they are on the sidelines. It is just hard to give any credibility in these circumstances.

 

[AZ]

should have asked him if he would be willing to set up the PSL as well

 

[Saj]

should have asked him if he would be willing to set up the PSL as well

He already said a while back that he would be prepared to.

 

[Saj]

Modi makes some very interesting points and one has to wonder about where the game of cricket is heading and how it will look in years to come, with the 3 main Boards basically dominating proceedings.

 

[Yorkers]

"BCCI, ECB & CA proposals threaten the world game" : Lalit Modi

Excellent interview by Pakpassion quality questions and detailed answers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kaayal]

Huh..see who is talking here.lalit modi is a bitter man after BCCI threw him out of their house and the ipl.he was running it like his own family business and now suddenly,he is acting all saint??and not only that,he is accusing others of corruption and fixing.what an irony!!!

i am 100% sure that he will be in other boat if he had some bigstake in IPL.

If i had to choose b/w srini and modi,i will choose Srini over him anyday anyweek.

 

[Haroon786]

Good interview, but it seems like this was done a while back, as some events have occured, such as Bangladesh and South Africa accepting the newly revamped proposals.

 

[SOSami]

Good interview, but it seems like this was done a while back, as some events have occured, such as Bangladesh and South Africa accepting the newly revamped proposals.

Nope not at all. Done a couple of days ago.

 

[Mp812]

Why do I get the feeling that suddenly Lalit Modi is now going to be considered most respected man with honorable intentions and utmost integrity ? A promotion from being the worst kind of person few months back. Oh the power of one sentence.

 

[IndianWillow]

Huh..see who is talking here.lalit modi is a bitter man after BCCI threw him out of their house and the ipl.he was running it like his own family business and now suddenly,he is acting all saint??and not only that,he is accusing others of corruption and fixing.what an irony!!!

i am 100% sure that he will be in other boat if he had some bigstake in IPL.

If i had to choose b/w srini and modi,i will choose Srini over him anyday anyweek.

He may have some valid points, but there is no reason to name him the champion of justice.

He was thrown out of the BCCI on corruption charges and no wonder he has nothing good to say about BCCI.

Some of the charges on which Mr. Modi was sacked include irregularities in various financial and administrative matters of the IPL; rigging bids during the franchise auction in 2010; selling media and Internet rights without BCCI permission; planning a rebel league with clubs in England; and arm-twisting the former Kochi franchise.

I guess there may not be much to choose between Modi and Srini.

 

[jeetu]

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/repor...-will-destroy-cricket-lalit-modi/20140221.htm
Looks like someone from rediff is a PP member.
Lalit Modi himself acted like dictator when he was in control of IPL. He was the guy who banned Pak players from IPL. He is a just bitter man.

 

[90MPH]

I agree with others that Modi is saying stuff that is convenient for him and his own self interests.

I don't think he gives a toss about the "world game" in general. If he was still in the BCCI he would say the exact opposite today.

Anyway he was instrumental in the way he humiliated Pakistan players during the 2010 IPL auction so I don't trust him, especially when he has various corruption charges.

 

[Abid Z]

He has some corruption charges for sure but anybody would be blind to not see Srinavasan as the true Machivellian figure here. These proposals completely tilt the world of cricket in favour of the big three and in particular BCCI and Srinavasan. However annoying Lalit Modi was I think he was a genuine promoter of world cricket and in particular bringing in further funds without disenfranchising any board. You can clearly see that he feels genuinely perturbed by recent proposals and as somebody who used to be on the inside he presents a worrying picture.

 

[thivakar]

Srinivasan(from Tamil Nadu) is running world cricket and India's 2014 general election will be determined by who Tamil Nadu's chief minster (Jayalalitha) supports. Everything is working out wonderfully for that state

 

[thivakar]

Didn't they make some recent changes after its initial proposal ?

 

[Saj]

Many thanks to Lalit for his time.

He makes some very interesting points on a number of issues.

 

[CricVet]

Sounds like the case of pot and kettle, nothing more. Now he is a saint since he is out of the big picture.

 

[Saj]

Controversial former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who has been living in exile after being slapped with a life ban, was on Tuesday elected president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, prompting a livid BCCI to suspend the RCA.


Modi predictably swept the polls, winning by an emphatic 24-5 margin after the Supreme Court cleared the decks for the announcement of the election results, more than four months after the acrimonious polls.

The result was announced by court-appointed observer justice (retd) NM Kasliwal in Jaipur on Tuesday. The announcement of results is expected to trigger another round of legal tussle between Modi and the BCCI, which has made it clear that it would not accept the verdict.

Read: Lalit Modi says RCA victory stepping stone to BCCI return

Out of a total 33 votes, Modi's opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five.

Within a couple of hours of the declaration of RCA poll results, the BCCI indefinitely suspended the RCA and decided to form an ad-hoc committee to run the affairs of the affiliated unit..

Read: We will fight against BCCI suspension: RCA deputy president Mehmood Abdi

"As per Order dated 30/4/2014 the Hon'ble Supreme Court had directed that if it is found by BCCI that any person has acted against its rules, regulations or law, which is to be enforced by it, it would be open to it to take action against such a person," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

"In pursuance of the order, under authority vested in him as per Regulation 32 (vii) of the Rules and Regulations of BCCI, Mr. Shivlal Yadav, interim president, BCCI, has suspended the Rajasthan Cricket Association from the membership of the BCCI, pending disciplinary proceedings against it on charges of misconduct," he added.

"Keeping in mind the interests of the sport of cricket and in order to safeguard the best interests and welfare of the cricketers playing the game in different age-groups and their future, an ad-hoc committee will be constituted shortly by the BCCI," the statement read.

The RCA, on its part, vowed to challenge the suspension in court.

"We are mulling over the situation and would appeal in the High Court," said Mehmood Abdi, the newly-elected vice-president and Modi's lawyer.

"We are governed by the Sports Act prevailing in the state and it is law of the land whereas BCCI is just a registered body. We shall raise the matter on all possible forums apart from fighting it out in the court," said Abdi.

"It is unfair to punish the association given that the ban was on one person. Some of the members are pushing for a Special General Body meeting of the BCCI to be convened at the earliest and I hope the matter would come up there too," he added.

The 50-year-old Modi, who has been living in London for the past four years, was allowed to contest the RCA elections held on December 19 last year under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed observer.

Among other office-bearers, Somendra Tiwari was elected as the new secretary, while Pawan Goyal won the treasurer's post. Mehmood M Abdi, a close confidante and legal counsel of Modi, has been elected as the deputy president of the RCA.

Abdi said he expected the BCCI to take a more rational view of the situation now that N Srinivasan is no longer at the helm of affairs after being forced to step aside pending an inquiry into the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

Abdi claimed that Modi, despite being based in London right now, was capable of running the RCA affairs.

"Modi will be running RCA through his executive committee. It is a shrinking world and lot of the work is done through video conferencing. CP Joshi was the chief earlier for four years and he used to be in Delhi most of the times," he said.

"I expect Modi to be back when the security situation improves," he added, referring to the alleged security threat cited by Modi for refusing to come back to India.

Modi was slapped with a life ban by the BCCI on September 25 last year after its disciplinary committee found him guilty on eight charges of "indiscipline and misconduct".

After Modi entered the fray in the RCA elections, BCCI had challenged the Rajasthan Sports Act, 2005 which allowed the former IPL chief to contest the presidential polls despite being banned for life by the Board.

Modi's re-election is being seen a massive blow to Srinivasan, who has been criticised severely by the discarded administrator on several occasions.

The BCCI disciplinary committee, comprising Arun Jaitley, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, had submitted a 134-page report in July, 2013, in which it had found Modi guilty of financial irregularities, indiscipline and "actions detrimental to the interest of the BCCI".

later last year, the apex court made its retired judge Justice Kasliwal a principal observer to oversee the RCA elections. The elections had become contentious because Modi was in the fray for the president-ship.

Challenging the election, the BCCI pleaded that Modi should not have been allowed to contest and the election be quashed.

But the Supreme Court, last month, cleared the decks for the declaration of RCA's election results.

Brushing aside the BCCI's objection, a bench headed by Justice A R Dave directed the registry to send the results, in a sealed envelope by Kasliwal.

The court, however, has said that anyone aggrieved of the outcome can challenge it before an appropriate authority.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/sport...icket-association-chief/article1-1215917.aspx

 

[cricketjoshila]

The BCCI is in fix here.Every sporting body in Rajasthan is run by the Rajasthan sports law,passed by the Rajasthan legislative assembly.So any committee Adhoc or otherwise appointed by BCCI can be/will be struck down by the govt. according to the laws and there is nothing BCCI can do about it.BCCI is just a body and it has to obey the laws.Srini and his regime are trying to take on everyone and have made a lot of enemies and god willing Srini and his regime will be out of BCCI soon.

 

[Abdullah719]

BCCI wins Rs 850 crore in arbitration against WSG

Long after former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s exit from BCCI, pending litigations arising out of his controversial reign are now falling in place for the Indian cricket board. One such arbitration with the World Sports Group (WSG) brought a positive result for BCCI on Monday.

An arbitral tribunal consisting of Supreme Court Justices (Retd) Sujatha Manohar, Mukunthakam Sharma and S.S. Nijjar upheld the termination of the IPL media rights agreement for overseas territories with WSG by the BCCI, on June 28, 2010.

It will allow BCCI to appropriate amounts lying in escrow account, to the tune of over Rs 850 crore. The matter went to arbitration, after WSG staked claim over the profit they would have made, if BCCI did not cancel the agreement. They also wanted damages, for wrongful termination of the agreement. BCCI stuck to its stand that it was a fraud.

“It has been proved that Lalit Modi in conspiracy with WSG officials cheated, and defrauded the BCCI,” senior counsel, Raghu Raman, who represented the BCCI said.

The BCCI had terminated its agreement (IPL overseas media rights ) with WSG in June 2010, over dispute arising out of Rs 425 crore-facilitation fee pay-out. WSG (Mauritius) that won IPL media rights in a famous 3am deal with the then IPL commissioner on 15 March 2009, were unable to find a broadcast partner. MSM (Sony) entered into a facilitation agreement (Rs 425 crore) with WSG (Mauritius) before they won the IPL media rights for Indian sub continent from BCCI. The overseas rights stayed with WSG but on discovering the facilitation agreement, the board called it ‘improper’ and reclaimed the rights.

Subsequently, Sony terminated the facilitation agreement with WSG (Mauritius) and agreed to pay Rs300 crores to the BCCI, as well as another Rs125 crore after recovery from WSG. Ten years after Lalit Modi’s removal, BCCI has recovered the facilitation amount and won the right over Rs 850 crore in escrow account.

“BCCI had raised a complaint in 2010 to Chennai police. Now a civil tribunal has held that it is a fraud conducted by Lalit Modi and some officials of WSG,” Raman said.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...against-wsg/story-jO4P62KSyLLmLLPX2T4cDN.html

 

[U$ofA]

Very fortuitous for the BCCI in terms of timing. At a time when cricket $$$ are at a standstill, BCCI gets somewhere around $115 million. Not that they were struggling for money to begin with.

 

[sweep_shot]

Cricket is becoming a bit of a farce. They now have a World Cup almost every year. Leagues are taking over.

Better leadership is needed from ICC.

 

[U$ofA]

Cricket is becoming a bit of a farce. They now have a World Cup almost every year. Leagues are taking over.

Better leadership is needed from ICC.

Good luck with that. Do not see it happening.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-founder-lalit-modi-faces-7-mn-high-court-case-in-uk-report/799436

The London-based founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Lalit Modi, is facing an approximately USD 7-million legal challenge in the High Court in England over allegations of misrepresentation by a former Indian model, according to a UK media report on Sunday.

The Sunday Times' reports that Modi denies the allegations and is defending the claim, brought by Gurpreet Gill Maag, now a Singapore-based venture capitalist also known as Blu.

She alleges that Lalit Modi persuaded her to invest USD 2 million in a cancer treatment venture called Ion Care. He is accused of falsely naming prominent royals, including Prince Andrew Queen Elizabeth II's son, among patrons of the scheme.

Modi is said to have proposed a global network of cancer centres utilising revolutionary single-dose radiotherapy that had been used on his wife, Minal, who passed away in 2018.

He told me that it had given her seven more years of life, Gill Maag is quoted in the newspaper as having said.

As part of his sales pitch, Modi is alleged to have produced an investor document, seen by The Sunday Times', that listed as patrons Prince Andrew, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Gill Maag alleges that other prominent figures, including former prime minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, were separately named by Lalit Modi as investors.

The project, however, is said to have flopped by early 2019 and Gill Maag is now taking legal action, represented by Matthew Evans, a senior associate at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain law firm in London.

The case is expected to go to trial at the High Court in London early next year.

Unfortunately, despite successfully treating a number of patients, the project was not able to obtain sufficient funding and the company went into liquidation, reads a statement by Lalit Modi's lawyers to The Sunday Times'.

Mr Modi denies the allegations made by Mrs Maag and is defending the claim in full. The matter will be decided by the High Court in due course and Mr Modi is not able to comment further at this time. Mr Modi confirms that no criminal charges have been levelled in any Indian court against him by any of the Indian authorities, it adds.

Lalit Modi had relocated to London from India in 2010, amid scandals and controversies linked to the cricket IPL.

A spokesperson for Prince Andrew, who has been embroiled in a separate controversy related to his alleged links with the late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said he has never been a patron of Ion Care and had no knowledge of its existence.

 

[MenInG]

A former Indian model-turned-investor, Gurpreet Gill Maag, has filed a legal challenge in the High Court in London seeking damages amounting to millions of dollars from Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi over alleged deceit and breach of contract. Judge Murray Rosen QC is presiding over the trial, which opened in the Chancery Division this week, to determine whether Modi made false representations to secure investment for a worldwide cancer treatment project dating back to April 2018.

Modi has denied the allegations through written evidence and is also expected to make oral submissions during the course of the trial to counter the claims.

According to court documents, Maag-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) Quantum Care Ltd was pitched an attractive investment offer at a meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dubai for Modi's specialist cancer treatment company Ion Care.

The court was told: “In summary, the Maags' (Gurpreet and husband Daniel Maag) evidence is that Mr Modi informed them during the meeting that a number of well-known and influential individuals had agreed to act as ‘patrons' of Ion Care, had agreed to participate in its management (as 'leaders') and had also made substantial financial commitments to the business, amounting to some USD 260 million.

"Further, the Maags say Mr Modi told them that a number of influential individuals and celebrities had agreed to act as ‘brand ambassadors' for Ion Care." Being socially acquainted with London-based Modi, Maag – domiciled in Singapore – was invited to invest in a first “friends and family round” of fundraising for USD 2 million. Her company Quantum Care went on to invest USD 1 million on November 14, 2018, and the remaining USD 1 million was not invested as Ion Care's business never got off the ground.

However, Maag says this meant losses for her as she was unable to invest that sum in other businesses.

"Quantum alleges in these proceedings that the representations made by Modi during the April 2018 meeting were false and that he knew they were false or was reckless as to whether they were false,” her lawyers claim.

According to court submissions on behalf of Modi, the business of Ion Care - offering cancer treatment based upon a specific technology - was conceived by him following treatment provided to his wife, Minal, who suffered from cancer prior to her death in December 2018.

While the business did not succeed, he highlights that there is no complaint that the business model or technology upon which it was based were “misrepresented”.

With reference to the allegation that his investor pitch involved false representations, Modi contests that it was “indicative and aspirational – a sketch of an idea – and certainly not intended to be an authoritative catalogue of individuals who had signed up to represent Ion Care”.

As to the representations which were said to have been made orally, he denies making them in the categorical terms alleged. His case is that he was talking to many potential investors, many of whom had shown an interest, and that he was merely giving an indication of that level of interest and its provenance.

The scope of the trial, estimated to last into next week, is to determine the question of “causation”, with the quantification of any damages to be addressed at a separate and subsequent stage.

Gill's Quantum Care is seeking repayment of the balance of its investment made into Ion Care in November 2018, amounting to USD 800,000 plus interest.

In addition to its claim for $800,000, Quantum seeks to recover "substantial sums" in respect of its “consequential losses”, or the return the company would have received on the investments it would have made with the funds available to it but for the alleged misrepresentations.

Modi had relocated to London from India in 2010, amid scandals and controversies linked to the cricket IPL.

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/ipl-founder-lalit-modi-fights-legal-challenge-in-uk-court-2785716