Lalit Modi will pay dearly for his latest attack, say BCCI officials

Experts have termed Lalit Modi's decision to declare an open war against the Big Two of the Indian cricket board -- President Shashank Manohar and Secretary N Srinivasan -- as ill-advised

Experts have termed Lalit Modi's decision to declare an open war against the Big Two of the Indian cricket board -- President Shashank Manohar and Secretary N Srinivasan -- as ill-advised.

Watch out, boss! Suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi

"The Board is too powerful. You cannot win against it. It's not a very smart move by whoever in his (Modi's) think-tank thought about taking on the Board president and secretary," a seasoned official of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) told MiD DAY yesterday.

"His best chance was to put up a strong defence and negotiate a deal with the BCCI," he added.

Modi's allegations
According to a leaked letter which he had addressed to the BCCI president, the suspended IPL chairman made strong allegations against Manohar and Srinivasan and asked for their exclusion from the proceedings of the show cause notice against him.

Asked why the Board did not react officially to Modi's allegations, the BCCI official said: "Who will react to this, and anyway everyone is on holiday. It will backfire on Modi. Who is he? Jagmohan Dalmiya was much more powerful than him, but even he did not manage to get a one-third majority in the Special Annual General Body Meeting when he took on the Board. With this step, Modi has turned the neutrals also against him," said another senior BCCI functionary.

As for Modi's demand that Manohar and Srinivisan shouldn't take part in the proceedings against him, the BCCI official retorted: "It is the Board's decision and we have formed the committee as per the constitution of the BCCI."

Aggressive stance
Now that Modi has taken an aggressive stance, the official said it is clear that the matter will not be resolved amicably. "In all likelihood the matter will go in litigation, but if Modi is thrown out in the AGM what can the court do?" the BCCI expert observed.

Last month in an interview to MiD DAY, former BCCI secretary JY Lele had opined that Modi will have problems in the Board if he doesn't get the support of the all-powerful Manohar and Srinivasan.

The current BCCI official seconded that view. "Modi's biggest weak point is that he is not an influential player in BCCI's vote politics. He does not have the backing of any state association," he said.