New Delhi: Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and former BCCI vice-president, has leveled serious accusations against former cricket administrator N Srinivasan and his co-owned franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Srinivasan, who previously served as the ICC chairman and BCCI president, was accused by Modi of “bid rigging” during the IPL’s second-season auction. In a recent interview, Modi claimed that the IPL governing body manipulated the auction to ensure Andrew Flintoff was acquired by CSK, allegedly to fulfill Srinivasan’s personal wishes. He also accused Srinivasan and CSK of being involved in “indirect fixing.”
“Pick out everything-auction rigging. I gave Flintoff to Srinivasan. Yes, we did it. No doubts about it; every team knew about it. Srinivasan wasn’t going to let the IPL happen. He was a thorn in our Board. Yes, we told everybody not to pick (Andrew) Flintoff. Yes, that I did-because Srinivasan said ‘I want Flintoff’,” Lalit Modi mentioned,” said Lalit Modi on Raj Shamani’s YouTube podcast.
“When everybody started going on the bandwagon, he was also a member of the board. He was a big adversary of mine. I went up against him, and he did many things. Umpire fixing-he accused me of it, and I accused him right back. He would change the umpire. At first, I didn’t think much about it. But when I realized he was putting a Chennai umpire on a Chennai game, it became an issue for me. That’s called indirect fixing. When I started exposing those things, he went totally against me”, Modi claimed.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have cemented their legacy as one of the most successful teams in IPL history, winning a record-equalling five titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. However, the team faced a two-year suspension in 2016 and 2017 due to their involvement in a spot-fixing and betting scandal.
