Modi-Srinivasan could be involved in IPL auction fixing?
According to reports in newspapers, a leaked e-mail exchange between Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chief and N Srinivasan, the secretary of the BCCI, speaks about the fixing of the auctions before the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League.
The 2009 player-auction was the second auction that had taken place in the IPL and it had seen the bidding for the costliest bid so far in the tournament. Both, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were bought by Chennai and Bangalore respectively for a whopping $1.55 million. The report speaks of how Flintoff’s buying was rigged by the two men, Modi and Srinivasan.
The e-mail that Modi sent to Srinivasan says that he had managed to convince Shane Warne (erstwhile captain of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals) to not bid for Flintoff. Modi has allegedly mentioned in his e-mail that Warne was livid with the suggestion to not go for Flintoff, but was finally convinced. N Srinivasan is said to have replied to the e-mail with a ‘Thanks, you are most sweet’
What was ironic about the e-mail was that Modi ends the letter with ‘much love’, given that the kind of animosity the pair shares currently.
However, this is not a one-off e-mail that was sent by Srinivasan, it has been alleged. Over the last week, there have been many other leaks that portray the board secretary in a poor light, including one which Srinivasan is said to be fixing umpires for the Chennai Super Kings, causing issues for the IPL franchises process apart from the issues with this Flintoff incident.
Modi has been involved in a long, protracted battle with the BCCI after he was suspended from being the IPL chairman at the end of the previous IPL. He has been expected to appear before the disciplinary committee of the BCCI, but has yet to do so. He has been represented by his lawyers, and with the next disciplinary hearing on August 29, he is expected to give it a miss given that he is not in the country.
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