Indian Cricket Board set to oust Modi

Mumbai (AFP): Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi will be stripped of his posts by the country’s powerful cricket board on Wednesday, an official said, capping his incredible demise.

Modi was suspended as the IPL chairman in April by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), owners of the hugely popular Twenty20 IPL tournament, following allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering.

He was also been suspended as one of the five vice-presidents of the BCCI and removed as chairman of the T20 Champions League, a separate club tournament organised jointly by India, Australia and South Africa.

The BCCI is now expected to formally remove Modi from all the posts he held at its annual general meeting in Mumbai, completing his fall from one of the most powerful world cricket figures to a tarnished outsider.

“Modi’s term in the BCCI is over,” a BCCI official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “Rajiv Shukla will replace him as the vice-president.

Modi will cease to hold any post in BCCI or IPL.”

Shukla is a ruling party politician who is currently head of the BCCI media committee.

Modi’s troubles began in April when he revealed on microblogging website Twitter the ownership details of a new franchise set to join the tournament next year.

This embarrassed a high-profile member of the government, junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor, because Tharoor’s then-girlfriend and now wife had been given a free stake in the new team.

The minister was forced to resign under pressure from the opposition, which accused him of misusing his office to secure personal gain, with the free stake seen as a possible kickback.

The government then launched an investigation into the IPL, which led to multiple charges against Modi, who continues to be investigated by a three-member disciplinary committee set up by the BCCI.

Modi was also head of the BCCI’s marketing committee.