Daily News

New Delhi: Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi has denied that Union Minister Sharad Pawar was involved in bids for the Pune franchisee. But he has made an important revelation: he claims current IPL commissioner was involved in the bidding process.

Pawar has “absolutely zero interests” in any IPL team, Modi told CNN-IBN after media reports on Friday said that the Agriculture Minister and his family members had 16 percent share in City Corporation which was one of the bidders for Pune IPL team.

“He has no direct or indirect interests in any of the teams without any doubt. He has been misconstrued in the media by some vested interests. He had absolutely zero interests,” said Modi. Modi insisted that Anirudha Deshpande, managing director of City Corporation, bid for the IPL team in his individual capacity and he had set up a consortium for the purpose.

“Anirudha Deshpande was a bidder for a franchisee in Pune (but) he failed to get a franchisee. He had a consortium--it was the consortium which was going to bid. We had asked the bidders to provide their net worth criteria. He used City Corp as a net worth criteria. He was going to form a new group or company which would have three partners in it,” said Modi.

Modi explained that Deshpande had listed Amin as one of the partners in the new company they would form if they won the Pune IPL team. "Mr Deshpande was holding 80 pc of the equity, 10 pc was Akruti and 10 pc was Mr Chirayu Amin,” he said.

Modi clarified that this equity pattern would have existed had a new company been formed. “We knew very clearly that Mr Pawar and his family were not involved directly or indirectly in the bidding process. As far as the stakeholders were concerned, we knew who they were.”

Pawar on Friday dismissed reports of his family’s involvement in the City Corporation’s bid for the Pune IPL team, saying Deshpande made the attempt in his individual capacity.