Pawar backs off, Modi to quit as IPL chief

New Delhi: Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi is likely to resign on Tuesday after he returns from Dubai. Modi reportedly took the decision to step down after Union Agriculture Minister and International Cricket Council president-in-waiting Sharad Pawar withdrew his support to the beleaguered IPL chief.

Pawar reportedly explained to Modi that he (Modi) is in a "difficult situation" over the controversy surrounding the IPL.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Shashank Manohar came to Delhi on Tuesday morning to meet Pawar. Sources say Manohar will tell Pawar that Modi must go and that he (Pawar) should not try and defend the IPL chief. BCCI is also going to convene a special annual general meeting to force Modi to step if he does not put in his papers on Tuesday.

Modi has been accused of being involved in betting and financial irregularity. The BCCI is set to initiate an independent investigation into allegations of financial bungling by the IPL boss. Although on the record, no direct charge is being made against Lalit Modi, according to sources.

Sources also say that BCCI suspects financial irregularities in the IPL contract with sports marketing company IMG. The BCCI is likely to review IMG contract and seek explanation from Modi.

Many team owners have complained that they were left out of the loop in the decision.

IMG was paid Rs 43 crore for the first edition of the IPL, in 2008, and Rs 33 crore for the 2009 edition, held in South Africa. Reliance Industries entered into a joint venture agreement with IMG Worldwide.

The top brass of the BCCI including Manohar, Secretary N Srinivasan, and Congress MP and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla who also heads the board's media and finance committee, are said to be against Modi continuing as the IPL chief. The others who are against Modi include IPL vice-chairman Niranjan Shah, BCCI vice-president Chirayu Amin and BCCI joint secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

However, Modi has got the support of former BCCI chief IS Bindra, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association boss Farooq Abdullah and BCCI Honorary Treasurer MP Pandove. The people who are the fence sitters include BCCI vice-president and DDCA President Arun Jaitley, and the former Indian cricket team captains - Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.

In more bad news for Modi, the Government has also ordered an investigation by virtually all its economic intelligence units into the sources and use of funds by the IPL franchisees to unearth possible tax evasions and flouting of rules.

"I can assure you that all aspects of IPL will be probed, inclusive of the sources of funding, how these funds were routed and invested," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha on Monday.