'Dawood's assassination attempts, son's kidnapping': Lalit Modi on quitting cricket
What's the story
Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner and chairman, Lalit Modi, has revealed the reasons behind his exit from the sport. In an interview with ANI, Modi spoke about threats from fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his syndicate. He claimed that these threats came after his efforts to curb betting and fixing. He said, "You didn't hear of a single incident during my three years as IPL commissioner and chairman, nor a single investigation involving match-fixing during my time."
Clean slate
'Dawood Ibrahim is a known bookmaker'
However, he alleged that Dawood's network targeted him for refusing to allow match-fixing in the early years of IPL. "Dawood Ibrahim is a known bookmaker. He controlled the cricket book. In those days, it used to be $2 billion of underground betting. Today, it's $4 billion of underground betting a game....Every ball, there's an odd chance. It's the Satta Bazaar. Nobody fixes games anymore. You fix overs. You fix the ball," he said.
Narrow escapes
Modi claims he survived 3 assassination attempts
Modi claimed that he survived three assassination attempts, allegedly ordered by Dawood. He said these came after he rejected offers worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" to ignore match-fixing attempts. "He took three hits at me. Dawood himself said this. He missed three times," Modi said, adding that criminal syndicates were angered by his refusal to "look the other way" when approached about match-fixing.
Turf war
Conflict with betting syndicates intensified during IPL 2009
Modi said the first three seasons of IPL under his leadership were largely free from fixing. However, this stance put him at odds with powerful betting and underworld interests. The conflict intensified during the 2009 season when he successfully moved IPL to South Africa amid security concerns over India's general election schedule. He said betting syndicates had placed huge bets on the assumption that the tournament wouldn't happen, but when it was staged successfully, they turned against him.
Personal toll
My son was kidnapped in London, reveals Modi
For the first time, Modi also revealed that his son was kidnapped in London, an incident he had never spoken about before. "My son was kidnapped in London on Sloane Street...by a guy called Baba Avin. He lived on Park Street," he claimed. He also recounted an episode that occurred in 2012, in which he was summoned to a late-night meeting in London by a guy he characterized as a fixer and introduced to an intermediary known as "Baba."
Claims
His encounter with 'Baba'
"I'm called at 3.30 in the morning...He (fixer) says, 'You have to come and meet this guy, Baba...So I go to Baba's house. There, he (Baba) says, 'we need an IPL team.' I said...Why do you need an IPL team? Whoever wants to go and buy from someone can go buy it. Moreover, I'm not even going back to India; there is a Dawood problem there. To which he said, 'I will fix it in a minute,'" he revealed.