Lalit Modi, the person who brought the Indian Premier League (IPL) concept to life, has accused N Srinivasan, the ex-BCCI President and owner of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), of rigging the IPL 2009 auction to get Andre Flintoff to CSK and umpire fixing as well.
Lalit Modi alleged that N Srinivasan forced him to rig the IPL 2009 auction in such a way that CSK got England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in their franchise. Notably, the IPL 2009 was played in South Africa due to general elections in India.
The Chennai franchise purchased the flashy all-rounder for a then-record amount of ₹7.5 crore in the 2009 IPL player auction. Flintoff’s IPL season for the Chennai Super Kings was underwhelming, despite great hopes for the English all-rounder.
Lalit Modi said he made sure Andrew Flintoff went to CSK in IPL 2009 Auction
In a recent interview, Lalit Modi said that N. Srinivasan influenced the IPL auction to guarantee that Andrew Flintoff was selected by CSK. Modi acknowledged that he advised teams not to bid for Flintoff at Srinivasan’s request, claiming that CSK was determined to sign the star.
“Pick out everything—auction rigging. I gave Flintoff to Srinivasan. No doubts about it; every team knew about it. Srinivasan wasn’t going to let the IPL happen. He was a thorn in our Board. Yes, we told everybody not to pick ‘Flintoff.’ Yes, that I did—because Srinivasan said he wanted it,” Lalit Modi said.
Andrew Flintoff struggled with injuries during the IPL 2009 tournament and didn’t perform to his fullest. He scored 62 runs in three matches, averaging 31 with a strike rate of less than 120. With the ball, the former fast bowler had only two wickets and an economy rate of 9.55.
N Srinivasan doubted IPL would be a success; used Chennai umpire in CSK games: Lalit Modi
Lalit Modi opened up about the difficulties of conducting the IPL. He stated that Srinivasan first denied the IPL’s success before becoming a prominent adversary.
“When you’re trying to organize an event like the IPL, and I’m doing it single-handedly, you need to remove every thorn. What is bigger for the game? Every player is there only for three months, maybe three years. He didn’t like the IPL and he didn’t think it would work, but then it started to work,” Modi said.
Modi accused Srinivasan of manipulating umpire decisions to favor Chennai Super Kings, which he considered “indirect fixing.”
“When everybody started going back-to-back, he was also a member of the board. He was a big adversary of mine. I went up against him, and he did many things. Umpire fixing—he accused me of it, and I accused him right back. He would change the umpire.
At first, I didn’t think much about it. But when I realized he was putting a Chennai umpire on a Chennai game, it became an issue for me. That’s called indirect fixing. When I started exposing those things, he went totally against me,” he added.
Lalit Modi accuses Srinivasan of UMPIRE FIXING in IPL:
1. Srini anyhow wanted Flintoff in CSK. He was BCCI Sec. We asked all other teams not to bid for him.2. Srini changed the umpires. He appointed Chennai Umpires in the matches of Chennai Super Kings🤯
🎥: Raj Shamani YT pic.twitter.com/Z610hckBqD— The Analyzer (News Updates🗞️) (@Indian_Analyzer) November 27, 2024
CSK has gone on to achieve huge success in IPL, winning the title five times and holding the joint record for most title wins with Mumbai Indians.