Boria Majumdar narrates Lalit Modi-IPL strife in his latest book

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi had brainstormed the concept of the cash-rich league that then not many knew would rule the cricketing world. 

However, the story of Lalit's exit from the cricketing map to becoming a fugitive was still not in the public eye till Boria Majumdar, a sports journalist and author, took the lid off his fallout with the former BCCI President Shashank Manohar. 

Majumdar has let the cat out of the bag and dished out many interesting anecdotes regarding the infamous IPL controversy related to Lalit's termination from his position in 2010. 

In a chapter of his book 'Maverick Commissioner: The IPL-Lalit Modi Saga', Majumdar has revealed how Lalit played the waiting game with the now-defunct franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala. He did not sign the papers, delaying it on the excuse of changes to be made, till Manohar intervened and coerced him on a phone call.

"The Kochi delegation, I was told, met Lalit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai, his base, on 10 April 2010 to get his signature on the franchise agreement," Majumdar wrote in his book.

"It was the nth meeting in a week and each time he had asked them to change things, refusing to put pen on paper. The BCCI lawyer was under specific instructions to get him to sign the franchise papers and close the chapter. But it was Lalit she was dealing with. Yet again he asked her to change a few things and only then would he comply," he added.

Manohar, who had to deal with Lalit's trickery, opened up on how he took the matter in his own hands.

"Yes, that's what happened. I had asked the board's legal counsel to get it signed and put an end to the matter. It was a simple thing. However, she called me back and said Lalit had asked her to make a change in the document and even before she could reach his hotel had left for Bengaluru (for an IPL game)," Manohar said.

"I asked her to instruct the Kochi representatives to travel to Bengaluru and get it done. We had had enough, and this was starting to get a little frustrating."

While the Kochi delegation was made to proceed to Bengaluru, their long travel would not have helped had Manohar not forced Lalit to sign the paper that very night only.

"I had stayed awake for I knew there could be trouble. Lalit wasn't easy to deal with and this was expected. That's when I decided to act decisively," Manohar stated.

"I called Lalit and I told him he had to sign the document that night itself, failing which I would overrule him and request the Secretary N.Srinivasan to sign the document the next morning.

"According to the board's constitution, the Secretary has all the powers to do so and at the end of the day, the IPL is just a sub-committee of the BCCI. We had given Lalit enough of a long rope. He was becoming an embarrassment and had to be stopped," he shared.

Post the ultimatum, the papers finally had Lalit's signature. However, minutes after the IPL 2010 final, the ex-chairman was suspended by the BCCI. In 2013, he was banned from cricket for life after being found guilty of 'indiscipline and misconduct'.