Modi threatens to shift IPL out of Jaipur

Facing a series of court and police cases from his adversaries in Rajasthan, Lalit Modi on Monday threatened to shift Indian Premier League (IPL) matches from Jaipur.

Calling the cases a kind of harassment, the IPL chairman said the developments in Rajasthan are not conducive to organising matches in Jaipur. “I’ve been authorised to decide on the venue for the home matches of Rajasthan Royals. I will decide in a couple of days,” Modi told a news conference here on Monday.

“The option to move matches is available to us. We are looking at alternate venues without doubt. If any government anywhere is going to deter the IPL management from staging matches, we would take away those matches and hold them elsewhere,” he added.

Reacting to the cheating case filed against him in Jaipur on Sunday for alleged failure to deposit the entire Rs 6 crore pledged for the victims of Jaipur bomb blasts last year, Modi said he was only a facilitator.

“A couple of parties have not paid. But failure to conform with a goodwill gesture does not constitute an offence,” he said. Modi also said currently IPL was looking at 11 venues, two in Mumbai and one each in other seven home cities of the franchisees, apart from Cuttack and Ahmedabad. The venues will be decided in the next few days.

Modi said that the IPL would resolve the dispute between Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-controlled BIG TV, which has withdrawn from its partnership with the IPL as its ground sponsors, and the League’s broadcast rights holders Sony Entertainment Television by Tuesday. “I don’t know the details, but we hope we can settle it by tomorrow. We cannot allow our ground sponsors getting an unfair deal on air. We will go to the bottom of this. Sony has to comply with our contractual obligations,” he said.

IPL rejects PCB plea on Asif
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has rejected a Pakistan Cricket Board  (PCB) request to advance the ban on tainted Mohammad Asif from a couple of months. Asif was banned for one year for failing a dope test during the first edition of the IPL.

“We have received a request from the PCB to advance the ban on Asif from September 23 to July 15, 2008. We cannot do so. The ban was imposed by the IPL Drug Tribunal comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Dr Ravi Bapat and Shirish Gupte,” said IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

Modi said the Pakistan bowler had the option of appealing against the ban but chose not to do so. “I do not know why the ban was imposed for one year. He could have appealed against it and then the Appeals Tribunal would have looked into it. He did not do so. The ban stays from September 23, 2008,” Modi said.

2011 WC hosts meeting on Tuesday
The top officials of the Asian cricket boards will converge in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the 2011 World Cup. The four hosts — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — of the tournament will discuss logistics, venues, organisational issues and the issue of common visa.

The meeting will be chaired by Sharad Pawar, the chairman of the committee, who, incidentally, is also the vice-president of the 2011 World Cup.

A three-member delegation from Pakistan led by its chairman Ejaz Butt will be attending the meeting. BCCI sources said the current tensions between India and Pakistan will be on the agenda as well.

“It is a routine but important meeting of the organising committee. It is to take stock of the arrangements made so far and draw up plans for the future”, the source said.