 Chirayu Amin said the after match parties would be scrapped
|
The interim chief of the highly lucrative Indian Premier League has said a clean-up of the scandal-hit cricket tournament has begun.
Chirayu Amin promised a "bigger, better and transparent" IPL next year.
Last Sunday, Indian cricket officials suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi and demanded he answer a number of corruption accusations.
The investigation of Mr Modi includes alleged franchise-bid rigging and broadcasting rights irregularities.
Mr Modi has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
The IPL started in 2008 and has become a multi-billion dollar industry, attracting some of India's wealthiest businesspeople to its franchises. The Twenty20 format competition features many of the world's top cricketers.
'Show will go on'
The interim IPL chairman told reporters on Tuesday in Baroda, in Gujarat state, western India, that the "show will go on".
"IPL-IV would be on schedule and it would bigger and better. The cleaning up is already happening. My job is to run IPL in the most transparent manner," Mr Amin said.
He said there would be some changes in the way the event would be held next year.
One of them will be scrapping the controversial after-match parties where people pay up to $1,000 (£650) to mingle with cricketers, fashion models and Bollywood stars.
"I don't know about the cheerleaders (a regular attraction at IPL matches) but the IPL [party] nights will be stopped," he said.
Mr Amin said he would talk to the team owners to assure them their investments were safe.
"My job is to interact with franchises and assure them that their investment is safe and will flourish," he said.
"IPL's brand image is strong and nobody can touch that. It's a storm but it will pass."
Mr Amin said cricket officials were investigating the matter of missing documents relating to franchise bids and broadcast and internet rights for the tournament.
 Lalit Modi has denied allegations of wrongdoing
|
"Nothing is out of control. There has to be a total audit of things. Some documents are missing and we are looking into it," he said.
In a separate interview with a news network, Mr Amin said all members of the IPL governing council "are responsible for what it is happening".
"Certain details were not disclosed to us and we trusted Lalit Modi to act in good faith for the betterment of the game. So I must admit that the governing council could have been more vigilant," he said.
Separately Indian captain MS Dhoni said that the IPL would endure.
"IPL as a brand can survive on its own. But you have to come up with some innovative ideas every time to make it better," he said before his team left for the West Indies for the Twenty20 World Cup.
The crisis erupted after Mr Modi revealed on his Twitter account that a female friend of Shashi Tharoor, a junior government minister, had invested in a consortium that was awarded a new IPL franchise in Kochi.
That revelation sparked Mr Tharoor's resignation and also led to government investigations into the IPL.
No comments:
Post a Comment