New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering two options after Lalit Modi is forced to exit from the Indian Premier League.
The cricket board is planning to make BCCI President Shashank Manohar IPL chairman or to elevate either Rajiv Shukla or Arun Jaitley, who is BCCI vice-president and Delhi & District Cricket Association President, to the post of IPL Commissioner.
But the primary plan is to make Manohar ex-officio chairman of IPL as BCCI officials think that his 'clean and transparent' image will help the league overcome the controversy.
A team of two to eight management professionals will be appointed to help Manohar run the IPL. The back-up option is to elevate either Shukla, who is the BCCI media and finance committee chairman, or Jaitley to the commissioner's post. But sources also says that Shukla is not keen while Jaitley has been 'non-committal' on taking up the new responsibility
BCCI sources say that IPL has become too valuable and so the cricket board cannot abandon the league for errors committed by 'one man'. Moreover, Modi can be brought back into the IPL Governing Council if cleared by the BCCI inquiry committee led by Jaitley.
CNN-IBN learns Modi has asked the BCCI to postpone governing council meeting to the first week of May. He is unlikely to attend IPL governing council meeting on April 26.
The board is unlikely to accept Modi’s request and vote him out of the IPL even if Modi doesn't attend the meeting.
The BCCI has already said that it would take "harsh decisions" to protect its image in response to Modi's refusal to give resign from the post of IPL commissioner.
Modi, who is IPL commissioner, is facing allegations of financial irregularities and favouring family and friends in franchise bids. He has so far refused to step down from his post despite mounting pressure.
The controversy began after Modi's tweets on the shareholding pattern of the new Kochi franchise disclosed that former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor's close friend Sunanda Pushkar had a 'sweat equity' worth Rs 70 crore in the team.
Tharoor had to resign as a result but Modi is also in trouble after damaging revelations of his alleged 'silent' stakes in at least three IPL teams. Besides, Modi is also facing accusations of money laundering and betting in the IPL.
The BCCI has been in damage control mode ever since and there are indications that the Board's top brass wants Modi out after the IPL ends on April 25.
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