The governing council of the Indian Premier League is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the future of the competition's commissioner, Lalit Modi, who is at the centre of allegations regarding financial irregularities.
Sharad Pawar, the vice-president of the International Cricket Council, made the announcement today following a meeting with BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who arrived in Delhi for talks this morning.
Modi has come under scrutiny after the IPL's affairs became the subject of a government inquiry amid parliamentary allegations of money-laundering. IPL offices were raided on Thursday by tax officials investigating the allegations. They reportedly spent seven hours questioning IPL staff, including Modi, who has denied any wrongdoing.
"Manohar met me today and he briefed me about the situation," said Pawar, who appointed Modi during his time as president of the BCCI. "The IPL governing council will take a unanimous decision on Modi's resignation and, thereafter, we will take the required action.
"The governing council will take the decision in the interest of cricket. Don't forget Mr Modi is also a vice-president of the BCCI and our total approach and past experience is we always take collective and unanimous decisions that everyone is party to, including Lalit Modi."
Last week Modi revealed on his Twitter account that the girlfriend of Shashi Tharoor, a junior government minister, had invested in a consortium awarded the new IPL franchise in Kochi. The revelation caused a political storm, and forced Tharoor's resignation.
Modi is expected to return to India today from an ICC meeting in Dubai. The IPL's financial success guarantees that he has the backing of many franchises. "This entire issue has snowballed into an unnecessary storm," Vijay Mallya, owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, said. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm full of appreciation for what Lalit Modi has delivered through the IPL. If he has issues with the government of India, that's his private matter and he needs to deal with it."
Modi has issued a statement denying allegations in today's Economic Times that he has been charged with betting and laundering. He called the article "absolutely baseless, ill-founded and motivated" and promised to "initiate appropriate legal action against" a "defamatory and malicious campaign against him by a motivated section of media".