JOIN USAmin promises transparency
Amin said the GC could have been more vigilant while dealing with matters pertaining to the IPL.
In a media interview and a news conference in Vadodara, Amin candidly admitted that the success of the IPL was “so dazzling that everyone was basking in its glory.... Certain details were not disclosed to us in all this. We trusted Modi in good faith. I have to admit that the Governing Council could have been more vigilant.”
The low-profile Baroda Cricket Association president said he never thought he would be given the job. “I was not ready to take the job but it was thrust upon me unexpectedly. I have just taken over. Let me understand (IPL) first,” he said.
Amin, who owns the pharma company Alembic, took over as the IPL chief at a time when the league is battling allegations of money laundering, ‘benami’ holdings in the franchises and tax evasions.
“The job of cleaning up (IPL) has already started and the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is doing the needful,” Amin assured the cricket-crazy nation.
“Cricket and the IPL will go on. The players’ interests will be taken care of. They will enjoy playing cricket. The owners of the franchises will also flourish,” he said.
Asked how he plans to clean up the mess, Amin said: “We will try to make a system-oriented management of the IPL.
“The government is looking into various issues and the BCCI and the IPL are supporting them. Some documents are missing. The BCCI and IPL are trying to reorganise themselves so that we have all the documents,” he said. “We will maintain full transparency. There is no hanky-panky. The BCCI is a democratic set-up. We are doing the utmost to make it work,” Amin asserted.
On Modi, the new IPL boss said: “Everyone has his own style; I can’t fit into the shoes of Mr Modi.” Modi was suspended on Monday for 22 charges of financial impropriety by the IPL Governing Council. “He (Modi) asked for five days, we have given him 15. Let us be fair to Lalit Modi, wait for him to come up with answers,” Amin added.