Is BCCI scared of Lalit Modi?

New Delhi: Given the way BCCI behaves at times, should we not start calling it Bullying in the name of Controlling Cricket in India instead of the Board of Control for Cricket in India? The latest being their refusal to let the Indian players play in the Sri Lankan Premier League. Reason: They say the event is being organised by a private party on behalf of the Sri Lanka Cricket. (Read: BCCI bars players from Sri Lanka Premier League)

Apparently, 12 Indian players were keen on playing the league but the Indian Board denied them the NOC because they claim that the event is being organized by a Singapore-based company - Somerset Ventures.
The Lankan board said the league is owned by them and hence approved by the ICC, and the Somerset Ventures are just the marketing partners.(Read: Hurt Sri Lanka fires back at BCCI)

It's little absurd on the BCCI's part to say no to Sri Lanka, a country who the Indian cricket team has played the most in the last three years and who let their cricketers play in the BCCI-owned IPL at the cost of their preparations for the England tour (where series defeat is looming).

What's even weirder is BCCI's skepticism. Why would a national cricket board lie? And why would the ICC fall for it? So is it more than what meets the eye?

Perhaps!

According to a report in a national daily, the BCCI suspect involvement of… (hold your breath) …Lalit Modi. Whoa! And if you may ask the grounds on which they doubt so, then well…many of those who are working for the Somerset Ventures have worked in the IPL during Modi's regime.

Does this prove his involvement? Not really. The man himself was amused and said: "Amazing. What will they come up with next? Imaginations do run wild in BCCI nowadays."

"I really have no idea who is behind it. If there are people working in IPL and are working behind the scenes, then it must be with someone high up with BCCI's blessing. If I was to be behind a league, then it won't be just mere speculation. Everyone will know I'm behind it," Modi told the newspaper.

It's true Modi tried forming a league in England and that was crushed even before it could materialize. But a national board, well aware of the consequences if they irk the BCCI, would not hide something so contentious.

But, for instance, even if Modi's involved, why be so against it? It was under BCCI's 'ever-changing' and 'so-called' jurisdiction to remove Modi from the IPL, but what right do they have to force other boards to follow the same line?

"It seems best way to scuttle any plans is to say Lalit Modi is behind it. Good to know that just mentioning my name can send a shiver down their spines," Modi wrote on his Twitter page. (Read: BCCI a bunch of spineless people: Lalit Modi)

Is the BCCI really scared of him?

Anything to do with cricket needs India's (powerhouse of cricket) support to succeed, that's a well known fact. But it's unfair to exploit it to the extent of bullying and oppressing others.

Moreover, it is equally known that the BCCI members are not all clean and clear of any sort of misdeeds. It's more of a 'who-has-the whip-controls-the-beast' scenario, and the whip is always changing hands in the BCCI's case.

The BCCI czars are well aware of the damage Modi can inflict if he ever returns to power and they won't let the monster trapped in the cave come out easily. Whoever said 'cricket is a gentleman's game'!

source of post:
http://sports.ndtv.com/index.php